Shinobi of the Hidden Village: Curse of the Kyuubi
by samuraistorm
Summary: What if Naruto wasn't just Kyuubi's container? What if he was the reincarnation of the monster? Would things turn out differently? Follow Naruto and his friends and find out as they make adventures, face enemies, and find love. Main pairing; NaruHina.
1. The Truth of the Kyuubi

**Its about time I worked on a Naruto fanfic. Please don't comment on my lack of knowledge.**

* * *

**Plot:** Naruto begins to get strange dreams, seeing the events of when Kyuubi destroyed innocent lives. Things get worse when he seems to lose respect among his friends. Later on in this story, Naruto discovers that Sasuke has been found, but he'll need to unlock a secret power if he plans to get Sasuke back. 

NOTE: This story doesn't follow the plot of Naruto Shippuden, but the time skip _did_ take place. The Rescue Gaara plot took place, but Sakura still doesn't know about the Kyuubi being sealed in Naruto. Sai has joined the team and Orochimaru is still alive.

By the way, this is a Naruto/Hinata fanfic. There's gonna be some hints of Naruto/Sakura, but the most I'll do with them is to have them see eachother as really close friends, or like brother and sister.

* * *

_The Fire._

_The Destruction._

_The Blood._

_The Pain._

_That was all that could be seen. The village was on fire with the villiagers running around in panic, grabbing onto their children, screaming for their lives. The ninjas of the village all surrounded the cause of the destruction. A giant animal stood in the center of the destruction, its four legs crushing the buildings under it. Its dark orange fur blending with the flames of horror. Its long nine tails waved around, destroying buildings that came in contact with them._

_The ninjas all jumped around, attacking the giant fox with kunais, shurikens, and seals, but they all seemed to be in vain._

_From what the people were screaming, the name of this giant creature was 'Kyuubi'._

_Kyuubi roared as the people were in peril and the ninjas protecting the village were not doing any better in saving them. There was nothing they could do, nothing could stop all this._

_The Fire._

_The Destruction._

_The Blood._

_The Pain._

* * *

Naruto woke up. It was just a dream, but why is he having it? He's been having those dreams for days. Maybe its a sign for something, but what? He looked outside his window, it was morning. As he looked and stared at the sunlight, he had a sense the something wasn't right. Not the dream, he knew fully well that wasn't right, but there was something else. Maybe a warm shower would help clear his mind. 

He got into his bathroom, getting out of his clothes and having a towle ready for him. He entered the shower and turned on the water. The warmth of the water soothed him as he closed his eyes and relaxed. It seemed like five minutes and Naruto knew it was enough for him. He got out of the shower and dried himself off. As he was cleaning himself up, he still felt somewhat incomplete. There was something still missing, but he didn't know what. Naruto walked out of the bathroom, with the towel wrapped around his waist. He looked at the clock and that was when it hit him.

"Shit! I'm late." Naruto remembered that he was to meet Kakashi-Sensei, Sakura, and Sai. How could he be late again? Naruto jumped out of bed and ran to get changed into his orange jumpsuit. He once wore a very bright orange one, but ever since his training with Jiraiya, he got himself a new jumpsuit. He's never been late ever since he got back from the two and a half year of training, but ever since he's been having these strange dreams, his lack of focus increased. After getting into his clothes, he ran out of the house and ran bullet speed and towards Tsunade-Hokage's office.

* * *

"He's late again." Sakura commented with a small growl. Naruto's habit of being late began to grow recently. 

"I wonder what's keeping him back this long." Sai said, "Its been like this for a while."

While Sai, Kakashi, and Tsunade were calmly, and patiently waiting for Naruto, Sakura was getting fustrated by this. Iruka stood next to Tsunade's desk, standing there, like her bodygaurd. Of course, they all had their share of Naruto's behavior, but Sakura was getting fed up with him. It seemed to be good when Naruto returned from his training, he was able to show up on time for training and mission, but he's been showing up late starting a few days ago. for the first few days, Sakura shrugged it off, assuming he was late because of a lack of sleep due to training, but after he started showing up late more often, she began to get fustrated by it. Even at times when they all had a small break from training, Naruto was still late everytime.

Moments later, Naruto burst through the door, panting and sweating. "I'm here." He panted.

"You're also late." Sakura growled, "This is getting really annoying."

"I'm sorry." Naruto said, a little sad. He never liked making Sakura upset, it made him feel bad about himself.

"It doesn't matter." Tsunade said, "He's here."

"No!" Sakura snapped, "It does matter! Naruto's been late for a long time now and you're going easy on him!"

"Sakura, calm down." Kakashi said, "Let's just get on with our assignment."

While he expected Sakura to either do as he said or retaliate, he didn't expect Naruto to be the one that would speak at this moment.

"Listen, I said I was sorry!" Naruto said, with a strong tone of aggression. Where's this aggressive tone coming from? Naruto never talked like this to Sakura, why start now? "Can we just calm down and go one with our assignment?"

"Sorry's not gonna cut it Naruto." Sakura said with anger. Of course, she was surprised to hear Naruto talk back to her like this, but she was upset about how he was talking to her as well.

"You have no right to talk to me like that!" Naruto talked back. This was begining to grow into something ugly. Two members of Team Kakashi were in a heated arguement and it seemed that none was backing out. "You know for a fact that I'm better than you. I'm working my up to become the next Hokage!"

"With the way you are, I don't think you have a chance at being Hokage!" Sakura shot a comment back at him.

"That's enough!" Tsunade rose up from her chair behind the desk. This went too far, and she knew she had to end it before it escalated into a fight. "Your assignment is suspended."

"Wait, you can't do that!" Naruto said. Realizing that this arguement had finally taken its toll, Naruto stopped instantly and looked at the Hokage. "You called us here for an assignment, you can't just take it back." This day wasn't going well for him. His day started off with his strange dream, he arrives late, Sakura unleashes her anger at him, and his assignment gets suspended.

"I just did." Tsunade said firmly, "Naruto, you are to train with Sai and Kakashi instead. And Sakura, you are to report to the medical center for your daily duties."

"This isn't fair!" Sakura yelled. She pointed a finger at Naruto. "You can't punish us all for Naruto's mistake."

"My mistake?" Naruto asked angerly, "You think all this is my fault?! I suppose you think your so perfect and you can't make mistakes."

"At least my mistakes don't cost us a mission." Sakura snapped.

**Don't let that girl talk to you like that.**

"Kyuubi." Naruto muttered.

**You have the power to make them all do what you want. Why not use that power?**

"No." He muttered, "You're contained in me for a reason."

**You can't keep me in forever.**

"Naruto, are you alright?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto replied. Of course, he was lying, but what choice did he have? He couldn't let Sai and Sakura know about his secret with the Kyuubi.

"Face it Naruto." Sakura said, "You may have grown up physically, but you're still as immature as ever. Just as pathetic as before."

**She's pushing it. Don't let her say things like that to you.**

"Whatever." Naruto muttered, "This is over." He turned away from Sakura and headed out the door.

As they all walked out of the Hokage's office, Iruka noticed that something was wrong with Naruto. "Um, Kakashi." He got his attention. Kakashi turned around and looked at him. "I was wondering. With your permission, I would like to take Naruto with me for the day."

"Well, that will depend on the Hokage." Kakashi replied calmly, as always.

The two looked at the female Hokage for her approval. She sat there, thinking through her options. "Very well. Sai and Kakashi will train together, Sakura will have her daily duties at the medical center, and Naruto will spend the day with Iruka." She looked over to Iruka, "I'm to expect that you are to have Naruto do some training."

"Of course." Iruka responded.

* * *

While the others were doing what was assigned to them, Iruka and Naruto were spending their time at the Ichiraku Ramen bar. Of course, they made sure Tsunade didn't know about it. It took some convincing and some money, but Iruka manged to convince others to not tell Tsunade about it. 

"How is it?" Iruka asked.

"Its great." Naruto replied with a smiled and several strandes of noodle hanging out of his lips. "It tastes great."

"That's not what I meant." Iruka said, "I know somethings been going on with you and Kyuubi. I want to know if your alright." Naruto then lowered his head in a small sense of depression, "You know you don't have to face it alone."

Naruto placed his chopsticks down and finally brought up the courage to tell him. "Ok. A few days ago, I started to have these strange dreams." Naruto said, "I don't know why I have them, and I don't know what's important about these dreams."

"What happens in this dream?" Iruka asked. This seemed important for him to know. Maybe he should know about this dream.

"Well, everynight its the same." Naruto began. Because dreams were all the same, he remembered every detail of the dream. "I'm in a village, I don't know which one, but the village was on fire. people were running around, scared and dying. Ninjas ran around me attacking me. I didn't know why at first, but then I realized that I was seeing things in the eyes of 'it'."

"The Kyuubi?" Iruka asked, "You're talking about Kyuubi right?"

"Yeah." Naruto answered, "Kyuubi."

"I think its time you know the entire truth of Kyuubi." Iruka said, "Your 16 now, you deserve the truth."

"That truth?" Naruto asked, "What's more for me to know about myself?"

* * *

_A group of hooded figures stood around a room. There were candles all around and lit. The center of the room had a small basket and inside it was a baby. It was crying and it echoed throughout the room._

_"Its done." One of them said, "The seal has been made."_

_"Do you really think this should be?" Another asked, "The people will resent the child knowing about this."_

_"Do you suggest we kill the young one?" Another asked, "Kill an innocent life to spare him the rejection?"_

_"Let's not forget, he is not innocent." The other said, "Unlike what we did with the one that has the seal of Shukaku, this one is different. The seal is simply there to make sure the human stays a human."_

_"Very well."_

_They all gathered around the crying child and simply stood there as he continued to cry._

* * *

"Do you understand now?" Iruka asked, "Do you understand why you were greatly resented by everyone?" 

Naruto was speeachless. He didn't know what to say. Hearing what Iruka had told him left him with nothing to say.

"You're not just the container of Kyuubi, not the cage, the seal, or the host. Your more than just that." Iruka said, "You're Kyuubi's reincarnation."

"What?" Naruto was shocked by this. He lived his life believing that the seal on him was to contain the Kyuubi inside him, but instead it was a seal that kept Naruto a human. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You were too young to know the entire truth." Iruka replied, "Remember when Mizuki told you the truth about Kyuubi? You weren't able to handle that amount of truth as it was, but he didn't know the entire story, I did. When I was relieved that he didn't reveal the whole story, I chose to wait until you were at the age to fully understand the real truth of yourself."

"But why wasn't the Kyuubi simply sealed like the others?" Naruto asked, "Why wasn't it sealed like how it was done to Gaara?" This was something Naruto never expected to hear. Not only was he the host of the Kyuubi's power, but he was the Kyuubi in human form.

"From what I was told, the power of the Kyuubi was too strong for a simple seal." Iruka explained.

* * *

_The Fourth Hokage stood before the large body of the now defeated Kyuubi. He raised his hand and ran it on the Kyuubi's fur. It didn't move, it was indeed weakened._

_"Yodaime!" Several ANBU arrived to the site._

_He simply turned and faced them, "This is exactly what the Kazakage was refering to. The Kyuubi cannot be killed, only contained."_

_"Then we shall prepare for the sealing." One of the ANBU responded._

* * *

"The Fourth was responsible for changing the Kyuubi into what you are." Iruka said, "While many were told that he died sealing the Kyuubi into you, that was a misguided fact. He gave up his life to reincarnate the Kyuubi into human form."

Naruto didn't answer. He still needed time to take in this information. It was some time before Iruka chose to speak again. "You can go if you want. I'm sure you have alot to think about."

"Thank you." Naruto got up from his seat and proceeded to leave the Ramen bar. Iruka was right, he needed time to think. He needed time to be alone.

* * *

Sakura was outside of the medical center. She had just finshed her duties and was able to go home. It was now nighttime and she was exhausted from all the patients she had to treat and all the medicine she had to prepare. Sometimes, she often regretted wanting to be a Medical ninja, but knew it was what she wanted to do. She was on her way home when she saw something catch her eyes. She saw Naruto was sitting on the roof of a house, looking at the moon, or at least that's what she thought he was looking at. 

_He looks so lonely._ She thought. She wanted to go over there and talk with him, but she quickly had second thoughts. What if he's still upset about what happened this morning? Would he still be angry? Perhaps it was best the she leave him alone for now.

While Sakura made the decision to go home instead, Naruto was sitting there, not looking at anything. He was more in a state of thought. Finally realizing the whole truth about himself, he needed all the time he can get to think it all out. He suddenly began to have words enter in his mind.

_It's that boy._

_Stay away from him._

_Don't talk to him, you understand?_

_He's dangerous._

_No one trusts him, neither should you._

"They all hated me, thinking I had the Kyuubi sealed inside me." He said to himself, "What would have happened if they knew the truth?"

He closed his eyes, but when he did, he suddenly saw the face of Kyuubi. This image forced Naruto to open his eyes again. The Kyuubi was beginning to grow. Thought news about him being the reincarnation of Kyuubi made his day more strange than ever. All he could do was hope that this wouldn't continue to affect him throughout the rest of his life. He needed to stay focused if he ever planned to reach the goal of becoming Hokage. Naruto got up and attempted to jump off the roof and land on the ground, but he lost his footing and slipped.

"Oh shit." Naruto fell on his back and began to slide down the roof. He slipped over the edge, but his foot got ahold of a drain pipe. "That was close." He looked down and saw a pair of feet below. They sure weren't hid. He looked up to who it could be. "Oh. Uh, hi."

"H...hi...Na...Naruto-kun..." Hinata was just as shy as ever, but she still smiled. The two were looking at eachother face to face. Hinata blushed as red as a tomato, this being the second time Naruto was this close to her face hanging upside-down. She still remembered very clearly of what she did then. She didn't want to do that again, but something in her head just forced her to do the regretable. She reared her head back and gave a small scream.

"Uh oh." Naruto only looked helpless as he watched Hinata's forehead come closer to his. The impact of both their foreheads colliding forced Naruto to fall and land on his head.

"Naruto!" Hinata quickly kneeled down to Naruto's side. She couldn't belive herself, She did her best to resist doing the same mistake she made last time, but it just backfired. "Naruto?"

Naruto gave no response. Apparently, the impact of his head on the ground dazed him out. Hinata tried to lift him off the ground, and get him back home, but his weight was too much for her to lift.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata was getting worried, she didn't want to leave him here alone, but she wasn't able to lift him up on her own.

...Flashback...

"Naruto, get down from there!" Sakura called out.

Naruto was sitting on a tree, resting his eyes while Sakura, Hinata, Neji, and Sai were below.

"Tsunade's not gonna be happy with us being late." Hinata said.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and yawned. "Coming." He got up from the tree, but because of his drowsiness, he lost his footing and slipped off the tree, landing on his head.

"Naruto!" Hinata ran to his side.

"He'll be fine." Sakura said, "This happens all the time." She kneeled next to Naruto's dazed body and gave a firm smack to his cheek.

Naruto slowly regained his conciousness, "What happened?" He looked around him.

...End...

"Sorry Naruto-kun." Hinata brought her hand to Naruto's cheek. Closing her eyes, she gave him a firm smack, just like how Sakura did.

"Ow!" Naruto sat up straight from the hit, "I'm gonna kill you Saku..." He looked and saw that it wasn't Sakura that woke him from his daze. "Oh..."

"I'm s-sorry." Hinata looked down, still as shy as before, "I-I d-didn't mean to h-hit you."

Naruto rubbed his cheek, "It's alright." _Ow._ "Maybe next time this happens, don't slap so hard."

"Y-you're not mad are you?" Hinata asked softly. Having Naruto upset of her was the last thing she wanted.

"Of course not." Naruto smiled, "Sakura does it to me all the time."

Hinata put on a small but sweet smile. She helped Naruto to his feet. Naruto dusted all the dirt off his clothes.

"W-what were you d-doing up there?" Hinata asked.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up to the roof, remembering where he had fallen from, "Oh, I just needed some time alone to think. What about you? What are you doing out here?"

"F-father sent me out to find Neji." Hinata answered, "You d-didn't see him, did you?"

"Last time I remembered, he was with Ten-ten." Naruto said. Remembering that on his way to the rooftop, he saw the two walking together in the streets looking for Rock Lee. They asked Naruto for help on finding him, but with so much to think about at the time, he couldn't. "Maybe he's still with her."

"Oh. T-thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata gave a small smile, but a hint of pink entered her cheeks.

Naruto looked up to the sky and saw the moon shining high up. "It's getting late for me. I gotta get back home, or else I'll be late for tomorrow again."

"Ok. Good night Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled.

"Night." Naruto smiled back. With that, he walked off, heading back home. Hinata only looked on as her long-time crush walked away from her. Another chance for her to tell him how she felt, another chance for her to spill her heart out, she blew it again.

* * *

**There's the first chapter. I'll update this in time, but I can't promise that I'll have it done quickly.**


	2. Akatsuki Plots and Naruto Fights

**Well, here's the long awaited update. I'm glad to know how many people have put this story in their Story Alerts.**

* * *

The fires of destruction was spreading around the entire village. Many people were running from the source of this trouble, while the uniform clad ones ran to the source. The giant nine-tailed fox growled as it was being attack by small attacks. Though they were small, they still hurt, judging by the roars of pain.

Naruto woke up from his sleep. The nightmares still continued to haunt him. He looked over to his alarm clock. 7:16 am. It wasn't like him to wake up at this time, why did he wake up so early now? He roled back on his bed to sleep, but he just couldn't get himself to close his eyes for long. Heslipped out of bed and decided to look out the window for anything interesting. Outside, he saw groups of people walking to a location that was on the other side of the village.

Suddenly, Naruto remembered.

Today marked the day. Today was the day when the Kyuubi was finally eliminated 16 years ago. The people were all going to the graves of those who died from that event. It was as if fate had Naruto wake up early for this event, it wasn't like him to wake up this early in the morning.

* * *

The sky was gray from the many rainclouds that covered the sun. Rain was coming down on all of them, but it was light. Among the people were noticable faces, such as Neji, Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and others. There were other faces, ones that were from the people who lived in the village. At the front of the large group of mourners, Hokage Tsunade stood.

"Today, we remember our loved ones, who died on this very ground to save this village from a destruction that seemed impossible to stop." She spoke loudly so that everyone heard, "We come here today to pay our respects to the ones that protected us and remember them."

Hinata was at the back of the crowd, her and Neji arrived partially late for this, so they were at the back, but some of the others were with them. Sakura was with the two as well as Kiba and Shino.

"Coming here every year always makes me sad." Kiba said, "I mean, I didn't have anyone close who died back then, but it just makes me feel so hurt to know that they all died to stop just one bad thing." Akamaru stood behind Kiba, wanting to use him as cover from the rain. It wasn't easy, considering Akamaru was now bigger than he used to be.

From the trees, near the group, Naruto sat on a large branch, away from the crowd. How could he let himself be seen by the older people; they think him to be the keeper of the Kyuubi. If they found out that he was the reincarnation of the Kyuubi, it would be worse on his part.

"Need some company?"

Naruto looked to his side and saw Kakashi sitting next to him.

"That would be nice." Naruto answer quietly.

The two simply sat on the large branch, looking at the people approuching the graves of their loved ones. Naruto couldn't help but feel upset, even though it was 16 years ago, he knew he was truly responsible for their deaths. He wasn't the hero that the Fourth Hokage expected him to be known as, he was still the monster, just in another form of appearance.

"I didn't think it would hurt so much to see these people cry for their family." Naruto said with misty eyes.

"I can't really say I sympathize for you." Kakashi answered. He looked over to the blonde ninja, "Iruka told me about what he said to you last night."

"Ever since I knew, I thought I was just the host of the Kyuubi's power." Naruto said, "Now I realize I'm actually the Kyuubi."

As Naruto was deep in thought about the truth of himself, he saw that Sakura was heading to the graves. She approuched the gathered bunch that was near where her and the others were gathered. She bowed down to the graves before her.

"Who were that?" Naruto asked, "The ones that Sakura is with." He pointed in the direction of where Sakura was, showing Kakashi.

"You don't know?" Kakashi asked. Naruto simply shook his head softly as his answer. With that Kakashi sighed before telling him, "Each of them were her family. Her grandfather, her uncle, her aunt, and her great-grandmother."

"That many?" Naruto asked in shock. He couldn't believe it. He killed that many of her relatives? "But wouldn't that mean, her aunt and uncle were only kids when they were killed?"

Kakashi didn't answer, he knew that answering his question would upset him greatly, but to not answer him would still upset him. He didn't know what to say, all he could do was sit there and have Naruto figure it out on his own.

"No..." The people were right about him; Naruto really is a monster. "I killed her..."

* * *

Sakura still bowed down before the graves of her relatives.

"I never got to know any of you." Sakura said to the graves quietly, as if they were actually living people. "I can only hope you're in a better life than here, a life where there isn't any demons causing destruction." Sakura slowly began to have tears forming in her eyes. She slowly got to her feet and walked away from the grave.

"Are you alright Sakura?" Lee asked.

"I'll be fine." Sakura answer softly. She wiped the tears off her eyes.

The others couldn't feel the same way as she does. As far as they know, as well as their parents, none of their family members died in the Kyuubi event 16 years ago. The group simply stood under the tree, away from the rain.

Naruto still sat on the branch above them, but was unnoticed. He stared down at Sakura, seeing her cry was something that hurt him deeply.

_I'm so sorry Sakura-chan. I wish I could make it up to you, but I know I never could._

He closed his eyes and a teardrop fell from. The drop fell down below him and landed on Hinata's cheek.

"Huh?" Hinata noticed the feeling of a water drop landing of her, which was strange, for they were under a tree and away from the rain. She looked up to see where it had come from, but there was nothing up there, just the tree.

* * *

Naruto was in the training field, one that brought back memories of his first day as Kakashi's student. Standing in the rain, he brought his hands together to form his signature jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The field was scattered with dozens of clones, each of them slowly getting wet from the rain.

"I swear, I'm going to get strong enough to make sure Kyuubi doesn't take over me." He charged at on of his clones and began to fight. The clone fought back, knowing that Naruto was simply attacking for training purposes, "I won't let Kyuubi kill so many people again."

The clones charged at Naruto with the knowledge that Naruto is wanting to train to get stronger. Naruto brought his hands together and swirled them around, forming a blue ball of chakra.

"Rasengan!"

* * *

The next three days were quiet days. Because of the special day, many people were still in the state of sadness. Tsunade thought it would be best to give the people three days to fully finish their mourning. With the three days passed, the day went on like a normal day.

Naruto was walking down the streets of Konoha. He was on his way for his usual day of ramen for lunch. As he turned a corner, he bumped into someone and both of them landed on their behinds.

"Ow.."Naruto rubbed his bottom, softening out the pain from his fall. He got up and dusted himself off. He looked at the other person to see if they were alright, but he was met by a familiar face, "Oh, Hinata. I'm so sorry." He offered his hand to help her up.

Hinata took the hand Naruto lifted her on her feet. "Thank y-you, Naruto-kun." She looked down on the ground and saw the bag that she was carrying. "Oh no, the tomatoes." She fell on her knees and checked the bag. When she looked inside the bag, she saw that many of the tomatoes were crushed. "Oh, father's going to be mad at me."

"Is there anything I could do to help?" Naruto asked, feeling guilty for causing Hinata to fall.

"Oh, I d-don't want to t-take your time." Hinata began to stutter as she usualy does around Naruto. She's been around Naruto for over three years, yet she still didn't have the guts to tell him how she feels, let alone speak properly.

"But this was my fault." Naruto lifted the bag, letting the liquid from the crushed tomatoes leak out. "Let me buy another bag of these. I could get ramen another time."

"Y-you'd do that f-f-for me?" Hinata asked. She brought her hands up and began to tent her index fingers like usual. Hinata couldn't help but blush knowing how much Naruto would do for her.

"Of course." Naruto walked past Hinata, but grabbed her hand and pulled her along, "Come on, let's go."

Hinata simply blushed red as Naruto was holding onto her hand and pulling her along the streets. _He's holding my hand...Naruto-kun...is...holding my hand..._She didn't know what else to do, except let Naruto pull her along the streets and head to the vegatable stand to get a replacement for the tomatoes.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were on their way back to Hinata's home. Naruto had just bought Hinata another bag of tomatoes for her to make up for destroying her first bag He still wondered why her father needed so many tomatoes, but chose not to ask. As the two were walking, they passed by a group of elderly women.

"It's him isn't it?" One of them asked.

"Yes, I think it is." Another answered.

"What do you think she's doing with a boy like him?" Another one of the women asked, "Isn't she a Hyuga?"

Naruto couldn't help but get angry. Its been 16 years and they still treat Naruto like this. As they were still in view of Naruto, he shot a glare at them. The elderly women could only look in horror when they were met by Naruto's red slit eyes.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked when she saw that Naruto was looking upset, "A-are you alright?"

"Uh..." He had to think of something. He couldn't just tell her about how those elderly women were talking about him, "I was just getting annoyed at my stomach's rumbling."

"Oh." Hinata quietly giggled at his answer and her cheeks gave off a small tint of pink, "Are y-you sure you're a-alright with buying t-t-these for me?"

"Hey, come on, I ruined them. It was best for me to make it up to you." Naruto said with a smile.

"Whoa-ho, look what we have?" Naruto and Hinata looked ahead and saw Kiba standing with Akamaru and Choji, "What a nice couple."

Hinata suddenly blushed with a bright red, almost as red as the tomatoes she had in the bag she was carrying. She quickly gave Kiba a look of plea. He instantly knew that she didn't want Naruto to know about her crush over him.

_Oh shit...she didn't tell him yet?_

"You're still just as hard-assed as ever Kiba." Naruto said smiling.

"I thought you went to eat some ramen." Kiba said, "I as planning to meet you there with Choji and Sai. It's a little strange to see the Ramen Monster not eating his usual portion of ramen."

Something in Kiba's words made Naruto flinch slightly.

**He just called you a monster. You plan to let him get away with that?**

_Come on, he was just joking._

**But what about those other people who called you a monster? You think they were joking too?**

"Naruto-kun, a-are you alright?" Hinata asked, worrying at how Naruto suddenly changed from a his happy self to a look that seem like he was upset.

"I'm fine!" Naruto snapped.

Hinata suddenly backed away from him. Why did he yell at her? Did she do something wrong?

"I'm...I'm sorry." Naruto said with the apologetic tone in his voice, "I didn't mean to yell at you."

Naruto thought it'd be best if he headed home on his own, so without anybody to tell him otherwise, He walked on, paast Kiba, Choji, and Sai.

"You know what I always wondered?" Sai asked, "Since we know that the One-Tailed beast was contained in Kazakage Gaara, but who was the Nine-Tailed fox contained in?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks. Hearing the word 'Nine-Tailed fox' just forced him to stop walking. He was about two feet away from the group.

"Maybe some freak who plans to destroy the world." Kiba answered, "Who knows?"

**He's pushing it. Just make him know that you're one to fear.**

_No! I'm not gonna hurt any of them._

**Why? Because they're your _friends_?**

"Perhaps they should find who the Kyuubi is sealed in and kill them." Sai answered.

**That's it.**

Naruto couldn't control himself. The strength of the Kyuubi suddenly took over him, and with this control over the body, Naruto swung his fist and punched Sai right in the face. Sai fell back and landed on the ground with a bruise on his cheek. Naruto stood over him with a look of anger over his eyes.

_No...Why did I..._

Naruto's expression of anger suddenly changed to a look of shock. "S...Sai..." He wanted to help him up, but realizing what he had just done, he couldn't. He slowly backed away and ran off, leaving them all behind.

_Why did I punch him?_ Naruto asked himself. _Why wasn't I strong enough to stop it?_

_

* * *

_

In a dark and secluded place, hidden from the eyes of others, a group gathered together. They all wore robes that covered their bodies, all except their heads. On the black robes, small patches of red in the design of a cloud were on it.

These were the Akatsuki, a group of defected ninjas with the soul purpose of obtaining ultimate power.

"We have now obtained seven of the nine Tailed beasts." Deidara said.

"The other two shall be difficult to obtain." Itachi spoke, "The Nine-Tailed fox is the strongest of them all, which would prove difficult to capture."

"We have captured and extracted the One-Tailed Shukaku." Deidara said, knowing that Gaara was his and Sasori's target, "Along with the Two-Tailed Demon Cat and the Six-Tailed Lion."

"The Three-Tailed Tortiose is extracted." Tobi said, "As well as the Four-Tailed Pheonix."

"The Five-Tailed Wolf has been captured." Hidan answered, "The Eight-Tailed Boar is also of no threat to us."

"Now all we need is the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox." Itachi said, "As well as the Seven-Tailed Falcon."

"We know where the fox is." Deidara said.

"But what of the falcon?" Kisame asked.

"The fox is most important." Itachi said, "Once we capture and extract it, we know that we have dealt with the strongest of the Jinchuuriki."

"Then let us go and capture the fox." Deidara said, "I could use some fun exploding the village."

"Wait." Itachi stopped Deidara from leaving the gathering, "It would do no good. Sasori was killed when the Konoha ninjas came to rescue the Shukaku Jinchuuriki. We will need a more different approuch. Something that the Konoha ninjas will not expect."

"What do you suggest?" Hidan asked.

Itachi stood there, not answering for the first few seconds. From under the robe that covered his mouth Itachi gave a small grin of an evil scheme. "Where are the rest of Sasori's puppets?"

* * *

The next day went along the usual way for Naruto, but this time, he chose to make sure it stayed usual. He went to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar to have his meal, to make up for missing out yesterday.

As Naruto was going on his business of eating uninterupted, someone had just came in and sat down beside him.

"Sakura?"

"Kiba told me about what happened yesterday." Sakura said, "Are you alright?"

"Well, I'm fine." Naruto answered, "But I was the one who did the punching. You should see if Sai is ok."

"I did." Sakura said, "He told me that something was bothering you that might have made you hit him." She saw that Naruto was still eating his ramen, but despite this, he was paying attention to what she was saying. "You kinda got Hinata a little scared, she's worried about you. And I'm worried about you."

Naruto finished up with his ramen. Drinking up the broth, he put the bowl down and put the chopsticks in the empty bowl. "Thanks Sakura, but I'm fine. I don't need anyone to worry about me."

"Naruto, I've known you for almost four years. I know that something is bothering you." Sakura said. She reached out and held his hands in hers. "I understand that opening up isn't what you were able to do before. I know you were lonely when you were little, but you can't keep everything bottled up inside forever."

Naruto started to have a warm feeling of comfort when he felt Sakura's soft hands touching his. He remembered that he would have done so much to be able to hold her hands when he was younger, but ever since returning home from the two and a half year training with Jiraiya, his infactuation over her wore off. Maybe he was maturing, maybe he's found someone new. It no longer mattered. "Thanks for caring Sakura." He smiled softly.

While Naruto and Sakura were sitting together at the Ramen Bar, from the other side of the street, a certain blue-haired Hyuga watched from behind a pole, with heartbroken eyes. Seeing the two together and holding hands made Hinata realize that she had now lost her chance to tell Naruto her true feelings. Tears fell down her eyes as she watched Naruto and Sakura together, knowing she would have no chance against Sakura. She fell to her knees, while still holding onto the pole that she was hiding behind. No one bothered to stop and ask if she was alright, for none could see her hiding behind the pole.

* * *

**I was originally going to have the Akatsuki unleashed their plan in this chapter, but that would have brought the whole chain of events to happen so fast and this story would end in about ten chapters. So right now, I'm spacing the events out and adding for scenesto each chapter. If I'm lucky enough, I might be able to make this story more than twenty chapters long.**

**Anyways, please review on this chapter.**


	3. Puppets Reborn and a Lost Mind

**Like I said, I'm gonna space out events so that I make this story a long one. Also I should mention this; my fanfics are made based on the reviews I get around the start. If I don't get that many, I assume that not many people are interested and eventually I give up on them. Please give me some reviews so I know what you all think of this story. Even anonymous reviews are accepted.**

* * *

_The destruction spread around the city. People ran around in panic and terror, while the Kyuubi increased the amount of horror it had already caused._

_From a rooftop, several ANBU stood there, wielding kunai in their hands._

_"Fire!" The ANBU threw their kunai at the Kyuubi, each of them landing on seperate locations on the giant fox._

_Attached to each kunai, a small tag was wrapped around the handle; exploding seals. One by one, each of the seals exploded and small clouds of smoke formed on the Kyuubi's body. Amidst the sound of the explosions and the people screaming, the Kyuubi gave out a laugh of evil. With the ANBU who threw the kunai in sight, the Kyuubi launched one of its tails at them, destroying the building they stood on. The Anbu could only scream when the giant tail hit their foundation._

_With nothing able to stop the might of the Kyuubi, it roared out loudly, striking more fear into the hearts of the victims._

Naruto was sweating as this nightmare was repeating over and over in his mind. His head was tossing around his pillow and he was making small sounds of shivering fear.

* * *

"You really think this is nessecary?" Sai asked. 

Sai and Sakura were walking down the streets, on their way to Naruto's home. Due to the incident that happened with Naruto's...fury, Sai had a bandage over his nose. Sakura was leading the two with a look of somewhat anger in her eyes.

"He's already ten minutes late for training." Sakura growled, "And since Kakashi-sensei wasn't with us, it wouldn't matter to him if we went to his house and woke Naruto up."

As the two got closer to Naruto's house, a certain silver-haired ninja was standing in the shadows. "I should've known you'd be here."

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura was surprised to find him with the two.

"You know Naruto doesn't like it when someone wakes him up." Kakashi said. He had his right hand behind his back. While Sai and Sakura couldn't see it, Kakashi had his favourite book hidden from them.

"Well, he's gotta stop being late. Even if I have to..." Her complaint was cut short from the sound of screaming. Sakura looked to the direction of the scream, which led to Naruto's bedroom, "Naruto!"

The three ran towards Naruto's house and entered the building. Quickly making their way to Naruto's bedroom, they found him sitting in his bed, with sweat all over his face and fear in his eyes. He was breathing heavily as he had his hands over his face.

"Naruto?" Kakashi knew well what this was about. After having the talk with Iruka, he knew that this was another one of his many nightmares, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Naruto wiped the sweat off his face. "I'm fine." The nightmare was still fresh in his mind, but tried to avoid brining it up. Realizing why the others were here in the first place, "Uh, sorry that I'm late."

"It's alright for now." Sakura said, releaved to know that Naruto was fine, "Just get changed. We'll wait for you outside."

* * *

Not wasting a second, Naruto washed up and got into his favourite orange uniform. He washed his face in the sink and looked up the mirror. As he stared into his reflection, he suddenly saw something that almost made him jump back in fear; his face suddenly changed to the Kyuubi's and it growled at him. 

"What the..." Naruto shut his eyes and shook his head. Opening his eyes, he saw that the reflection was back to himself. "Am I seeing things?"

Drying his face out with a towel, he left the washroom. He headed out the front door and locked it behind him. As he made his way down the stairs and outside, he saw his teammates waiting for him.

"Ok, I'm ready." Naruto said smiling.

"Naruto!" Sakura looked at him in shock, "Are you really ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" He looked at Sakura in confusion, but then he saw that the others were also looking concerned. "Is there something wrong?"

"_Something wrong_? Naruto, you're pale as chalk." Sai answered, "Look at yourself."

Sakura pulled out a small pocket mirror and handed it to Naruto. He took the mirror and looked at his face. To his shock, Sai was right; his face was amazingly white, with a small shade of dark pink around his eyes.

"Perhaps I should tell Tsunade-sama to let you off the mission for today." Kakashi said.

"Come on, I feel fine." Naruto said. He gave his smiled again, showing that he wasn't at any disadvantage. "I can handle myself."

"Ok." Kakashi said, worringly, "Well, Godaime is waiting for us right now, we better get going."

As Naruto took a step, he fell down to the ground. Quickly, he forced himself back onto his feet.

"Are you alright?" Sai asked, actually showing concern for him this time.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto's vision started to blur slightly, but it shifted back to normal view. "I just lost my footing."

Kakashi simply looked in concern as Naruto smiled to shrug off what just happened. He greatly wanted to have Naruto go back to his room and sleep, but this would probably only upset Naruto.

* * *

Akatsuki gathered together with a mass pile of lifeless figures. 

"This was all that I could find." Deidara said, dumping the last one into the pile, "The rest were obliterated by the Konoha ninjas in our previous encounter."

"This will have to do." Itachi said.

"Just how do you plan to control them?" Hidan asked, "You know absolutely nothing about puppetry."

"But I do have these." Itachi pointed towards his eyes, showing them his Mangekyo Sharingan, "Despite it being at the Mangekyo, I can still copy techniques."

"So I suppose you've copied Sasori's puppet techniques?" Kisame asked.

"Exactly." With the movements of his hand, thin threads of chakra emited from them. One by one, each of the puppets slowly moved and stood up, "But with my Sharingan, I can do more than Sasori ever could."

The Akatsuki all looked in amazement as every single puppet stood on their feet, each of them aomehow attached to Itachi's chakra thread fingers.

* * *

"Naruto, you're..." 

"I know Tsunade Baa-chan." Naruto interupted. The name he had refered her to made her slightly flinch, "I look like a ghost, but I'm fine."

"I'm not too sure. Perhaps you should..."

"I said I'm fine." Naruto interupted her yet again, "Just give us our mission and we'll get going."

Tsunade looked at Naruto with concern, but seeing that his smile was still as fresh as it normally is, she gave in, "Ok, well the mission I have is a simple C-rank mission."

"C-rank?" Naruto whined, "What about something more better?"

"If your not satisfied, then you can go home." Tsunade replied, "I'm still concerned about letting you even participate in this mission in the current state your in."

"But I'm..."

"I know, you're fine." Tsunade took her turn to interupt Naruto, "Well anyways, this mission requires you to go to the training field for a search and retrieve mission."

"Search and retreive?" Sakura asked, "Shouldn't you assign this to Team 8?"

"Well, I currently have them on a B-rank mission requiring their skills." Tsunade answered, "I would've had Team Guy take this mission with Neji's Byakugan, but they are currently on their own mission. With Kakashi's Sharingan, it should be enough for this."

"Well, what does this mission require from us?" Sai asked.

"Villagers have claimed to have seen wild animals coming from the training grounds." Tsunade explained, "I need you to see if this is true and if it is, capture them all."

"Well, let's get going." Kakashi said.

The team proceeded to the door. Naruto turned, but bumped into Sakura.

"Sorry." Naruto said.

"Naruto, you're looking really bad." Sakura said, "Are you sure you can do this?"

"Yeah. You know me." Naruto smiled, but to Sakura's eyes, his smile wasn't as bright as before.

As the three left the office, they met with Shikamaru and Choji.

"Jeez, Naruto." Shikamaru commented, "You're looking a little...dead."

"Yeah, I know. I look like a ghost." Naruto frowned, "Can people stop making note of that? I'm fine."

"Do you mind facing away?" Choji asked, a little trembling, "I'm not too fond of ghosts."

With a smirk on his face, Naruto decided to pull another one of his pranks. He made a face, with his eyes crossing and sticking out his tongue and began to make ghostly noises. In reaction, Choji instantly paniced and screamed. Dropping on the floor and covering his ears and closing his eyes, he didn't move.

"Jesus, didn't think it would do that much." Naruto said.

"Nice one _baka_." Sakura growled.

"But it was just a little fun." Naruto turned to Sakura, "You know me..."

"Naruto, I'm over here." Sakura waved at Naruto's face.

Naruto noticed that Sakura was suddenly no longer in front of him, but instead to his right. Confused and a little dizzy, he faced her, "Anyways, you know me. I like making jokes."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Sai whispered to Kakashi, "You really think we should let him come?"

"Well, you don't want to know what would happen if we made that decision." Kakashi answered, "Let's just bring him along for now."

"So, what are you two doing here anyways?" Naruto asked Shikamaru.

"We're here to see how Ino is doing." Shikamaru answered, "She said she was improving on her medical jutsu and wanted to show us."

"Oh, well she really is improving." Sakura said, "You'll be surprised at how well she's been doing since her first day."

"Come on, you two." Kakashi called to Sakura and Naruto, "We better get going or some of them might get loose in the village."

"Anyways, take care." Naruto waved.

Shikamaru shrugged off the fact that Naruto wasn't facing either Choji or himself when he waved. He looked down and Choji, who still had his eyes and ears closed, "Choji, would you get up? Naruto's gone."

* * *

"What do you plan to do with them all?" Tobi asked. 

"I'm going to take these puppets to attack Konoha. With it as distraction, I plan to capture Naruto." Itachi answered, "As far as that backward village will assume, is that either Sasori returned for revenge, or a simple puppeteer army is invading."

"Not a bad plan." Deidara smiled, "But why not simply destroy the village?"

"Well, then where would the fun be when we get all the Tailed Beasts?" Kisume asked, "Once we get all of them, we can destroy every single village in anyway we desire."

"Hmm...anyway we desire." Deidara grinned, "I like the sound of that. I like that alot."

* * *

"Well that was a waste of time." Kiba complained, "We get a B-rank mission to track down a spy and it turns out to be a bunch of little kids playing hide-and-seek 24/7." 

"Well, at least we know there wasn't any possible threat to our village." Shino said with his 'no-expression' face, as he always does. "And they won't be playing around in that area anymore."

"You can say that again." Kiba smirked, "Your bugs made one of the boys wet himself."

Suddenly, Akamaru started to bark. The three members of Team 8 looked at Kiba's companion, wondering what was going on.

"Akamaru? What is it?" Kiba asked.

Akamaru simply began to growl. Kiba, being with him for his entire life and knowing his very nature of things, tried to understand what Akamaru was saying from the barking and growling.

"Well?" Hinata asked.

"There's something going on in the village." Kiba answered, "He said something about a 'whisker-boy' and 'vegetable'."

"Whisker-boy and vegetable?" Shino asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Naruto-Kun." Hinata suddenly blurted out. Remembering that Naruto is the only person in the village with actual whiskers on his face, she assumed it was Naruto, that Akamaru, refered to.

"Well, that's one, but what does he mean by vegetable?" Shino asked.

"We'll have to find out when we get back." Kiba said, "We better move fast."

Hinata and Shino nodded in agreement. The group of four, including Akamaru, ran off in high speed towards the village. Hinata couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong with Naruto.

* * *

The group of four left the Hokage's tower and were walking down the stairs outside the building. 

"So, do we know what kind of animals we're dealing with?" Naruto asked. As he was going down the stairs, his movement was a little out of step. It was as if he had one too many shots of sake. He managed halfway down the stairs.

"Naruto, I really think this isn't a good idea for you." Kakashi said, "Maybe you should go home to rest."

"I'll be fine." Naruto noticed that his vision was starting to blur. "I always...am..." He suddenly started to see black.

"Naruto!" Sakura looked in shock when she saw Naruto drop. as he collapsed, he rolled down the stairs and onto the ground below.

* * *

Naruto looked around him. 

"Where, am I?" he asked.

Looking at his surroundings, he saw that he was standing in the center square of Konoha. He knew that it was in the center of the village, for the Ramen Bar was in front of him. The place was empty, not a single person in sight.

"Where is everybody?" He asked.

He closed his eyes, hoping that this was all just his imagination and that he would be back to reality. When he opened his eyes, he suddenly saw the place being filled with people. They were all running away, apparently from him. He then saw Rock Lee.

"Hey, Fuzzy Brows. What's going on?" Naruto walked up to him, wanting to know why they were all running away.

"Stay away from me." Rock Lee backed away from Naruto. Naruto stopped in his tracks, confused about his reaction. Without hesitation, Rock Lee turned and ran away with the crowd.

He looked around for any other familiar faces. He saw groups of familiar faces around him. When the crowd disappeared, only few remained. Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka, and Jiraiya were the only adults were there. As for any younger people; Kiba(with Akakmaru), Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Sai, and Tenten were there, all of them not coming any closer towards him.

He then saw Sakura running towards him. "Sakura!" He smiled, knowing that she wasn't running away from him. As the two came closer, she suddenly look distressed. "Sakura?" She was looking down at his shadow. When he looked down, he saw what made her afraid, his shadow took form of Kyuubi, the nine tails swinging about.

He looked around for anyone else. When he looked to his right, he saw Hinata running towards him. As she came closer, Neji came from behind her and pulled her away. "Hinata-sama no!" He grabbed onto her arms, preventing her from getting any closer.

"Naruto-Kun!"

He looked to his right and standing on the roof, was Sasuke.

Sasuke simply looked at Naruto. "Face it Naruto, you're weak." He showed no sign of pity or fear of him, "You weren't strong enough to save me, your not strong enough to control the very demon you are."

"Sasuke..."

"Look at yourself. Look at what your becoming!" Sasuke pointed to Naruto's direction.

Naruto suddenly felt a strange sting of pain in his hands. He looked at his hands and saw that they were igniting in a coating of red chakra. His hands started to change, growing fur and black claws. "What's happening to me?" He then started to feel something happening in his mouth, he put on of his hands to his mouth and knew what the change was; he was starting to grow sharper teeth.

"Naruto..." Sakura looked in more fear when he saw what was happening to him, "I'm sorry." She turned back and began to run with the others. By this time, the others turned and proceeded to run away as well.

Hinata still struggled with trying to break free from Neji's grip. "Naruto-Kun!"

"No. Don't." Neji's grip was getting tighter on her as she was getting stronger in trying to break free.

"Please, let me go." Hinata begged.

"Hinata-sama, I'm sorry." With his strong grip, he threw Hinata up and over his shoulders. She kicked violently as she tried to get loose, but Neji's grip was still just as strong.

"No..." He saw that he was starting to become what his shadow showed. "NOO!!!!!"

His body increased in size and as he grew, his body changed from skin to fur. With his body taking form of Kyuubi, his mind began to think like Kyuubi. With no control over himself, he viciously roared and swung his tail around. One of his tails swung and hit Hinata and Neji, sending them to their deaths.

_NO!_

With the others in range, Kyuubi launched forward. The giant claws landed on the ground, crushing Shino and Kiba underneath seperate paws. Naruto saw that Akamaru jumped up and attempted to bite Kyuubi, but in retaliation, Kyuubi simply caught the dog in its jaws and Akamaru disappeared inside his mouth.

_Stop...just stop!_

The Kyuubi's eyes finally set on Sakura. Helpless to do anything, Sakura simply ran as fast as she could, but the Kyuubi was already prepared for the kill. It swung its giant nine tails and destroyed the buildings around it. The debris flew around and large chunks of the buildings landed on the ground below. Naruto could only look in horror when he saw Sakura disappear underneath a large chunks of stone.

_Sakura!_

He looked on helplessly as his body began to relive his nightmare.

* * *

Sakura kneeled down by Naruto's body. "Naruto." 

He suddenly took in a deep breath. Panting heavily, he tried to say something.

"Just breathe slowly." Sakura said.

"He's...gonna come back." Naruto panted, "He's gonna kill...everyone."

"Who is?" Sakura asked, "Who's coming back?"

Naruto continued to breathe heaviliy before he answered, "It's all my fault...Every...one's going to...die...because of...me."

"Shh, Naruto. Stay calm." Sakura said softly. When she noticed that Naruto stopped breathing heavily, she began ot worry, "Naruto?"

He didn't respond. In fact he didn't even breathe. He was simply lying on the ground at the foot of the stairs, not breathing with his mouth and eyes open.

Sakura checked his pulse and was slightly relieved that it was still there, but the fact tha he wasn't responding to anything had Sakura know exactly what this issue was; Naruto was in a coma. "Naruto!" Sakura shook him to wake him up, but to no success, "Naruto! Wake Up!" He still didn't respond, "NARUTO!!!!"

Kakashi and Sai stood by her as they were helpless on how to help. Sakura hugged Naruto's comatose body, not knowing how to wake him.

* * *

**Well, there's chapter three. Honestly, this whole Naruto going comatose wasn't originally part of the storyboard, but I thought it would be a good way to show Hinata's love for him and also show others how much she's concerned about him. Of course, Naruto won't know it, considering he's in a coma for the time.**


	4. There May Be Hope

**Here's the next update. Not much action is going to happen yet, but keep a lookout for it.**

**Please review my story. I really like it when I get reviews, it just tells me how much people like reading this.**

* * *

Naruto was on the hospital bed. His face was back to its normal tone, but his condition, according to the doctors, hasn't improved. A machine was connected to his body which kept track of his heartbeat, as well as his body temperature and brain condition. Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi were around his bed for their daily check-up on him. 

Though Kakashi and Sai could only come by once in a while to check up on him, Sakura looked on helplessly. She was able to heal injuries, but to get Naruto out of a coma, this was something she wished she knew how to do. Even Tsunade said that she had difficulty curing something like this.

"There's nothing you can do Sakura." Kakashi said, "All we can do is hope for a miracle."

While the three were standing aorund Naruto's body, the door opened and another group of three entered. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino came in to see how Naruto was doing. Hinata had a small bundle of flowers, wrapped in bright colored paper around the stems.

"How is he?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing new." Sakura answered, "Almost three weeks, and there hasn't been any sign of change."

Hinata put the flowers on the nightstand that was next to Naruto's bed. Remembering what she saw several days ago with him and Sakura, she's been avoiding making eye contact with Sakura. This wasn't something Hinata usually did, but it was something she found herself doing. Since that night, whenever she saw Sakura, something inside her felt strange, and whenever she looked away from her, the feeling disappeared.

"We better get going." Kakashi said, "We've spent enough time here."

Without arguement, Sai and Sakura left the room, leaving the members of Team 8 with Naruto. Hinata stayed by Naruto's bed, wishing that none of this was true and that it was all a bad dream.

"Let's give them some time alone." Kiba whispered into Shino's ear.

Shino nodded and the two proceeded to leave the room. Hinata instantly noticed this and got up from her seat. "Wait. Don't leave me alone...with...him.."

"Hinata, we're not that dense." Kiba said, "I mean, I personally don't know why Naruto hasn't figured it out yet, or even why its Naruto you have your eyes on, but the least you should have right now is privacy with him."

"B-b-but.."

"He's in a coma, he won't know he's alone with you." Kiba interupted, "If that makes you any comfortable, that is."

"If he really is the center of your affection, you should spend as much time with him as you can alone." Shino said. From his sleeve, a small bug crawled out and flew over to the nightstand and on Hinata's flowers, "Whenever you want us to come back, just crush it."

Hinata was never too fond of being around Shino whenever he let his bugs loose, but eventually learned to get used to it, but to kill one of his bugs was something Hinata never liked doing.

"Don't worry about it. I have a planet-ful of them in me." Shino said. Him and Kiba headed out the door with Kiba heading out first, "Take as much time as you want. We'll be training."

* * *

_Naruto..._

_Naruto..._

_Naruto..._

Who's voice is that? Naruto couldn't make out where that voice belonged to, but he knew it was a female for the voice definitely gave that away.

_Naruto..._

He couldn't see where it was coming from, everything around him was dark, too dark. He considered waving his hand in front of his face, but he didn't know if he was doing that or not. There was no sign of light anywhere around, only a voice.

_Naruto..._

* * *

"This looks like a good spot." Deidara said, "Show us what you can do." 

A group of four of the Akatsuki were standing on a cliff, just outside of a small village. Deidara, Hidan, Kisame, and Itachi were the ones that gathered together. Behind the four, Sasori's remaining puppets were all standing in army fashion. Though counting them proved pointless, there was a good total of at least 190 left from Sasori's 298.

"Leave no survivors." Hidan instructed, "You don't want people to spread the word and spoil the surprise."

"Don't tell me what to do." Itachi snapped back.

He brought his hands forward. His fingertips began to glow with seperate strands of chakra, each of them connecting to the many puppets. The puppets then marched forward and proceeded down the hill and towards the village.

* * *

Neji entered the building of the hospital. Hinata's father had just sent him to find her and through asking other people, he found that Hinata was here. He walked up to the front desk. 

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"I'm looking for Naruto Uzumaki's room?" Neji answered.

"Just give me a second..." The receptionist searched through a book, scanning through the pages, "Ok, he's in room 231."

"Arigato." Neji gave a small bow and headed to where the room was.

As he came to the door, he saw someone coming from the other end of the hallway.

"Tenten..." Neji was surprised to see her.

"Neji?" Tenten was just as surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Hinata-sama." He answered, "Shino and Kiba told me that she would be here. What about you? What are you doing here?"

"Honestly? Well, to tell you the truth, I actually came to see Naruto." Tenten shrugged her shoulders up and brought her head down, giving off a 'cute little girl' type of pose. She also gave off a small tint of pink, "Ever since he came back to Konoha last year, I've actually found him a little attractive."

"You're not trying to pull anything are you?" Neji asked with a look of playful suspicion, a first for almost anyone who's never been around him for a long time.

"What? Of course not." Tenten answered. She gave Neji a soft punch in the arm, "I already know about your sister and her crush over him."

"Hinata-sama is not my..."

"Oh sorry, I mean your cousin." Tenten smiled, correcting her mistake, "You two just seem like brother and sister now. The two of you are always so close these days."

"Well, I've grown to respect her." Neji answered. He realized that they were standing outside Naruto's room for a while now, "Um, let's go check up on him."

"Sure."

Tenten opened the door, but when she did, she quickly turned to Neji and brought her right hand to her mouth with her index finger up. "Shh." She pointed over to Naruto's bed. "Look at them, they're so cute."

Neji peered his head into the door and saw what made Tenten make that remark. Hinata was still seated on the chair, she had fallen asleep and her head was resting on the side of Naruto's bed. Her hands were resting softly on Naruto's hand. The only thing that somehow ruined the beautiful moment was the constant beeping of the machines in the room.

"Is he ever going to find out about her?" Tenten whispered out her question.

"Give him time." Neji whispered back, "He's not as bright as we are afterall."

Tenten giggled softly, not wanting to be too loud and wake up Hinata. Neji approuched Hinata's side. Seeing as how peaceful she was here, he decided to leave her here. He went to another bed in the room and took the blanket from the bed. He opened up the blanket and wrapped it over Hinata.

"Come on, let's go." Neji said.

Tenten followed Neji out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"So, um..."Neji slightly mumbled out what he tried to say.

"What?" Tenten asked.

"Are you...doing anything...right now?" Neji asked.

"Neji Hyuga." Tenten addressed him by his full name. She brought her hands to her side, "Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

"Um..." Neji could only blush in a bright red tone from Tenten's remark, "I-I-I...um...W-w-what..."

"Goodness, you stutter just as much as Hinata." Tenten laughed softly, "At least there's something similar about you two."

Neji didn't answer, he was still bright red and unable to get any words out of his mouth.

"Well, I finished my training for the day, maybe some time off would be nice." Tenten answered with a bright smile. "So, what do you have in mind?"

Neji still didn't answer, he was still unable to get over the sudden 'accusation' Tenten made of him.

"Would you stop looking like that?" Tenten asked, "If you want to take me out on a date, you have to actually be with me for it."

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes. She looked around herself, recollecting on what just happened. She fond herself in the hospital room and remembered that she feel asleep in here with... 

She quickly looked up and saw Naruto sitting up on the bed.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hi Hinata." Naruto smiled.

"Y-you're ok." Hinata said, trying to put on a smile.

"Eh...were you here this whole time?" Naruto asked, seeing that Hinata was sleeping next to his bed.

"I-I-I-I..." Hinata stuttered out the words too much that she couldn't even complete the first word.

Naruto paused to look at Hinata's bright red face. There was something about this look of her that made him realize something. "Hinata, is there something you want to tell me?"

"I-I-I...Naruto-kun...I've...always h-had feelings for...y-y-you..." Hinata brought her head down. Would Naruto accept this or ask her to leave?

"You like me?" Naruto asked. For the first time in his life, he actually felt like someone in the world truly cared for him, "Hinata?"

She didn't respond to him. Her head was still down as she was in deep thought. She still waited for whatever the outcome would be.

Naruto knew that Hinata must be waiting for an answer. He leaned over to her and embraced her in a warm hug. "Thank you."

"N...Naruto...-kun..." Hinata blushed brightly. Naruto was hugging her in the way she always wanted him to. The way that made her feel loved in return. A tear came from her right eye and rolled down her cheek. She closed her eyes and smiled warmly, melting in his arms.

_Hinata..._

She opened her eyes, wondering where that came from. That voice didn't sound like Naruto's/

_Hinata..._

* * *

Kiba shook Hinata's body. "Hinata, wake up." 

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. She looked around and realized that everything was a dream; Naruto was still in the bed, in his comatose state. She sighed in disappointment and sadness.

"Visiting hours are over." Kiba said, "We have to go."

Hinata got up from her chair, and immedietly felt the material of the blanket fall off her back. She looked down to the ground behind her and saw the blanket. Who put that on her? Did someone come in and do this, or was it...Naruto?

"You know we're gonna have to think up of something so that her father doesn't get angry." Kiba said to Shino.

"We simply trained harder than usual." Shino answered, "That simple."

"But we've done that one before." Kiba spoke back, "He's not gonna fall for it again."

"To hear that Hinata trains harder than before would make him happy." Shino replied. Of course, he didn't really make eye contact with Kiba for this whole arguement. "Let's go."

* * *

Bodies of humans were on the ground, not moving. Around them all, puppets stood over the massacre, all of them with small splashes of blood from the victims they killed. 

From on top of the cliff, the Akatsuki looked over the destruction.

"Well well well, I'm impressed." Deidara smiled, "That was much more entertaining that Sasori's use of his puppets."

"Not single one left alive." Kisame noticed, "I must say, that truly was impressive."

"Let's not waste anymore time." Itachi hands were up and forward. Though he had every single puppet on strings, the strings were invisible to their eyes. In one swift motion of his wrists, he yanked on the thread, causing the puppets to march back up the hill to where the four stood. "We have to prepare for our attack in Konoha."

Back down to the destroyed village, the puppets were marching towards the cliffside. One of the puppets stepped on a young man's head as it made to its destination. Once the puppets were a considerable distance away, the man groaned softly before opening his eyes.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama." Sakura stood before the Hokage's desk, "You called for me?" 

"Yes, I did." Tsunade answered, "I understand you came to visit Naruto daily since he ended up in the hospital."

"Yes, I have." Sakura answered. The image of Naruto in the hospital bed brought back memories of past events, such as when Naruto was taken there after failing to bring back Sasuke. That was a day Sakura would never forget.

"I understand that you are concerned for your teammate." Tsunade said, "But there is nothing you can do for this. A coma is something even I can't cure. We can only hope that Naruto eventually wakes."

Sakura brought her head down. Tears slowly started to form in her eyes as she let Tsunade's words repeat in her mind. "I...understand..."

Tsunade could easily tell that Sakura was in deep sadness. Crying over the loss of someone close was something she was very familiar with. She tried to think of something that could bring Sakura's hopes up. "Wait, there may be hope."

Sakura quickly looked up to the Godaime. Her eyes suddenly changing from looks of sadness to hope. "Really?"

"I just remembered, there was once a medical-nin from Suna. She was praised for once reviving a Konoha shinobi from three months in a coma." Tsunade said as she remembered this information from her medical records, "This was over ten years ago, but if we're lucky, records of how this was done may still be in the village and you can learn the technique."

"Then we should go." Sakura said, "Naruto's going to depend on us for this."

"Sakura, its too late now." Tsunade said, "I'll prepare your team first thing in the morning and I'll inform the Kazakage of your arrival. For now, go home and rest."

"Hai." Sakura smiled. She wiped the tears from her eyes and bowed. She left the office with greater hope in her eyes, _Hold on a little longer Naruto. We'll save you._

Tsunade sat at her desk, finishing up some paperwork. She then heard the sound of smoke puffing and immediately knew who it was. "You know Kakashi, the door isn't such a bad place to walk through."

"You really think this could help Naruto?" Kakashi asked. He stood to the side of Tsunade's desk, with the smoke still tracing around him.

"You of all people should know." Tsunade answered. She spun her chair to face Kakashi and had her arms crossed, "Afterall, it was you who was in that coma."

...Flashback...

(Ten years ago.)

A fairly more young-looking Kakashi was on a hospital bed in Suna. Machines were attached to his body to keep a check on his body's condition. Medical-nin stood around him with one that stood out from all the rest. She stood over Kakashi's body, looking at his conditions in the machine monitor.

"How long has he been out?" The woman asked.

"Three months." One of the medical-nins answered.

"That seems too long for a ANBU as brave as him." She reached behind her and pulled out a scroll. Undoing the string that kept the scrool rolled up, she laid it on Kakashi's body. "_Shin Saisei_(Mind Rebirth)." With that, she opened the scroll and ran her thumb over the ink characters. As her thumb passed over each character, they lit up in a bright light. After several seconds of this light illuminating the room, it faded.

"Look." One of the medical-nin pointed to the monitor that showed Kakashi's brain condition, "He's gaining conciousness."

...End...

"How could I forget?" Kakashi asked.

Knowing that he was making a reutorical question, Tsunade simply changed the subject of his past. "Well, as for tomorrow, would you mind being the leader of this mission?"

"Well, considering my past few mission were cancelled for good reasons, it'll be nice to finally have a mission." Kakashi said, "Who are you putting with me?"

"So far; Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Rock are my choices." Tsunade answered.

"That seems a little too much for a simple mission." Kakashi remarked on how many he was to bring with him Suna.

"Hinata and Kiba will alert your team of any danger on your way to the village. Sakura and Ino will need to know how to perform the technique. Shikamaru, Rock and Tenten will be good for any obstacles you may face on your way." Tsunade explained. Knowing that Akatsuki were still out there and that this mission was for the sake of Naruto, she wanted as many available helping hands on this.

"Very well." Kakashi said, "I'll be off to prepare for the mission." With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

A man stood at his desk, holding a piece of parchment that was given to him. He read it over carefully and upon reaching the end he placed the paper down on his desk. 

"This is tragic news." He said, "Kankuro."

Kankuro and Temari were standing before this man on the the other side of his desk.

"When will they arrive?" he asked.

"Considering the distance, probably three days at the most." Kankuro answered.

"Then prepare the quarters for them when they arrive." He said, but after a three second pause, he spoke again, "Please."

"Of course." Kakuro smiled as he nodded. He left the office, leaving Temari with the man.

"I want to make sure that they do this successfully." He said, "After how much he did for me, this would only be a small portion of my gratitude."

"You truly care for him don't you Gaara?" Temari asked.

"Yes, I do." Gaara answered, "He's the first person I truly considered a friend in my entire lifetime."

"Well, then I'll go and help Kankuro." Temari said, "If they plan to make this successful, they'll need to be at their finest condition."

"Thank you." Gaara smiled softly.

Temari smiled back. Seeing her youngest brother smile was something that always made her smile in return. No longer did he give a look that would possibly put fear in people's hearts, he now had a face that showed how much he cared for people and how far he would go for them.

Once Temari left the office, Gaara turned to the window that was behind him.

_Please hold on. We will save you, Naruto._

* * *

**Well, there's another moment between Hinata and Naruto. The next chapter will be out next week, so keep a look out for it.**

**I was also wondering if someone could do this for me.**

**Since my skills in art is very little, I was hoping someone who takes interest in my story could make occasional pictures of what happens throughout the story.**

**I'd strongly prefer if that person was a member of deviantart and has a strong talent in drawing.**

**If anyone is intersted, please send a pm.**


	5. Trip for the Cure

**Ok, I'm not really going to focus of Akatsuiki for some time. But I promise that the bigger plot will take place eventually.**

* * *

Morning came. Kakashi waited for his teammates to arrive. One by one, each of them came to the front gate, where he was waiting. 

"Is this everybody?" Kakashi asked. He looked at each of the faces, remembering the names of those he was assigned to look over. "Good, then lets get moving."

The group left the village and proceeded to make their way to the direction of Suna. As Hinata took her step outside the gates of Konoha, she turned to look back at the hospital, which was farily large, so it stood out from the other buildings.

_We'll save you, Naruto-kun._

"Hinata!" Sakura called out to her. Hinata turned and saw the group already several feet ahead of her, "Hurry up! We can't stop for anything!"

Hinata quickly dashed forward to the group, not wanting to waste a second when it could mean saving Naruto.

After traveling through the forest, jumping over branches and dodging trees, the sun was down and it was too dark to continued.

"We'll camp here for the night." Kakashi said, "Set yourselves up, I'll go get some firewood."

"Kakashi-sensei." Hinata walked up to the masked jonin, "Shouldn't we keep going? We need to get to Suna quickly don't we?"

"Of course we do, but its too dark to go on." Kakashi answered the Hyuga girl, "I understand you worry about Naruto, I do too. Afterall, he's my student. We'll make it there in time, but right now we need to rest up and recollect our energy."

"Hai..." Hinata's face was one of disappointment and concern. She was always good at hiding her true expressions and this was no different. Hinata went back to the group and set her sleeping bag up for the night.

* * *

The campfire lit brightly, warming everyone that slept around it. Kakashi sat on the grassy surface with his legs crossed. As usual, he had his nose in his favorite book. While the fire provided warmth while reading, it also gave some light for him as he read. 

The sound of someone moaning in discomfort got Kakashi's attention off his book. He looked over to his other students and saw that Hinata was rolling around in her sleeping bag.

_A nightmare?_ He thought in wonder, _I think I have a guess on what its about._

Hinata's head rolled around as her mind was tormenting her with images that gave her a chill of fear. Kakashi kneeled by her side and gently shook her awake. Hinata opened her eyes, finally realizing that it was just a dream.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked.

"H-hai." Hinata answered. Of course it was a nightmare, she wasn't alright.

"Maybe you should sleep closer to the fire." Kakashi suggested, "My sensei always insisted on that when I was a student."

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"Believe it or not, I used to have nightmares of my own during missions." Kakashi responded, "He told me that sleeping closer to the fire makes the nightmares come less often." He helped Hinata get out of her sleeping bag and set it up closer to the fire, but far enough to prevent any sort of accident from happening.

Hinata got back into her sleeping bag and got comfortable inside it.

_Good thing she didn't ask what my nightmare was about._ Kakashi began to remember his past memories of missions. _I hope no one ever finds out about it._

* * *

"Glad you could make it so quickly." Temari said, as the Konoha shinobi gathered in front of the Kazekage's office. 

Two days have gone by and the Konoha ninjas finally arrived. On the urge of Sakura and Lee, the team woke up as early as possible to cover more ground during the day, as well as sleeping later than usual. This schedule succesfully cut a three day journey down to two.

"Well, we would have arrived sooner if the others knew how to run faster." Rock Lee commented.

"Hey, its not our fault we're not trained by Guy-sensei." Kiba retorted, jumping at Lee from behind and binding him in a headlock.

"Hey! Stop it." Sakura smacked both of the boys on the head.

"Gomen Sakura-san." Lee immediately bowed to show his utmost apology.

"Kiss-ass." Kiba muttered, as he stood facing away from Rock with his arms crossed.

"We're ready to see Gaara-sama." Sakura said.

"Perfect." Temari smiled.

"Wait, before you go in." Kankuro stood before them all, "A personal request from him; please don't feel compelled to refer to him as '-sama', or '-san', or any of that respective stuff. He feels old enough about being a Kazekage at the age he's in, he doesn't want to feel any older with all the respect he gets."

"Agreed." Sakura replied.

"Good." Kankuro smiled. He opened the door to the office. He and Temari walked in first. "Gaara, they're here."

The group of seven all entered the office. While many of them first had their eyes on the Kazekage, Shikamaru made a glance back to Temari who simply smiled when she noticed it. Ino couldn't help herself, but look around the office, noticing that it was far more different that Tsunade's office.

"Welcome. I'm glad you could make it in short time." Gaara smiled softly.

The smile that Gaara gave brought a blush of pink on the girls' cheeks. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off him as his smile was something that she has not seen before. Hinata reacted the same way upon seeing the smile. Tenten on the other hand couldn't help but stare at him with heart-filled eyes. Ino couldn't stop herself from blushing brightly when the smile was caught in her view.

"I knew this would happen." Kankuro whispered to his sister's ear.

"Hmm?" Temari looked to where Kankuro was pointing and saw what he was refering to. She simply laughed when she saw how infactuated the girls were.

"I understand the reason for your arrival." Gaara spoke, apparently oblivious to the reactions the girls were giving him, "The scroll you seek is in the library. Unfortunately, the records that show where it was shelved has gone missing. You'll have to sweep the entire library to find it."

"That doesn't sound too hard." Lee said.

"You underestimate the task." Kankuro smirked.

* * *

"You gotta be kidding me." Kiba looked around at the immense size of the library they were in. "It's gonna take us forever to find it in here." 

"Well then, we better start now." Lee said, "How should we go about doing this?"

"Wait, where's Kakashi-sensei?" Shikamaru asked, realizing that their instructor wasn't with them.

Sakura gave a grumbling huff in realization, "Probably reading one of his books."

"I say we should search individual shelves." Shikamaru suggested, "Since we're looking for a medical jutsu, we'll all start there."

"The medical section has its own room." Temari said, "Considering there are many things that require medical attention."

"Geez, you just have to ruin the hope in us." Shikamaru muttered.

Temari smiled at his comment, knowing that she would have fun torturing the poor boy.

* * *

The group of seven scattered around the room looking for any information regarding the technique that was used to revive a comatose victim. The whole day was spent looking at every shelf, but the large size and mass amount was proving to make it difficult. 

Sakura and Hinata were together looking through one shelf. Sakura was on a ladder, looking at the top shelves, while Hinata was at the bottom, holding the ladder.

"Hinata, could you slide me over to the right?" Sakura asked.

Hinata didn't respond. She was deep in thought about something.

"Hey!" Sakura shouted, "Hinata!"

"Huh? Oh sorry." Hinata broke out from the thought and looked up, "What was it you wanted?"

"Could you slide me over to the right?" Sakura repeated.

Hinata pushed the ladder to the right, letting it slide on the rail to where Sakura wanted it to be.

_What's in her mind?_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Hey, they have to close the place down for the night!" Kankuro called out. He opened the door of the room's entrance/exit. "Be out in five minutes."

* * *

The moon was now up in the sky. While many of the villagers were at home, ready for bed, few shinobi were patrolling the streets. The only one that stood out from the others was a Konoha shinobi who was standing before a grave. 

"It's great to see you again." Kakashi spoke to the grave, "Its been almost a whole year since our last meeting.

No one else was with him while he spoke. On the tombstone, a name was engraved on it; Elder Chiyo.

"Gaara has been doing a great job as the Kazakage." Kakashi said, "You would be proud of him." Knowing that this was a one-way conversation, he didn't bother waiting for a response, knowing it would never come, "Rest in peace, Elder Chiyo."

* * *

"This will be your quarters until you leave." Temari said as she oened the door to the room. 

Inside, there were several beds set up with nightstands next to each. There wasn't much to see in here, for it was only a temporary bedroom.

"Thank you Temari-san." Sakura smiled.

"Get plenty of sleep." Temari said, "You'll hve to be at your best for tomorrow."

Temari left the room and walked down the hall, leaving the Konoha girls to make themselves comfortable. Each of them claimed their bed and immediatly rested on them.

* * *

"Here you are." While Temari was showing the girls their room, Kanukro was taking the boys to theirs, "Its not much, but its the best we can do." 

"This is more than enough." Shikamaru said, "Thank you."

"I'll leave you all to get comfortable." Kankuro left and proceeded to go to wherever he was heading to.

"We spent hours looking for the scroll and all we found were ones on how to cure stomach aches and diarrhea." Kiba moaned.

"We'll just have to search harder tomorrow." Lee said with determination, "Naruto is depending on us."

"Well then, we better get some sleep." Shikamaru said. While all of them prepared themselves for the night, Shikamaru looked out the window. Down below, standing on the borderwalls of the village, Temari was standing there. "Um...I'm going to take a walk."

"Alright." Kiba replied, "Don't make such a ruckus when you get back."

Shikamaru simply answered with a gesture of his arm as he walked out the door.

Once the doors closed, "He's going to see that sand girl, its obvious."

"Isn't she three years older than us all?" Lee asked, confused as to why Shikamaru is interested in one much older than him.

"You think that would stop him?" Kiba asked, "Besides, the dude already acts like an adult." Kiba got into his bed and pulled the covers over him. Akamaru jumped up on the foot of the bed and curled himself up.

* * *

Temari was standing on the border wall of the city, overlooking the landscape. No one else was around her, so she was alone. At least, that's what she thought. 

"Mind if I join you?" A familiar voice asked her. Temari turned back and saw Shikamaru standing there with a smile on his face, "Unless you prefer to be alone."

"No, I could use some company." Temari smiled back.

* * *

Hinata began to move around in her bed, not being able to sleep. The reason of why she was here continued to torment her mind. Remembering Naruto in the hospital for the past three weeks has made her restless for the whole time. 

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Sakura asked.

Hinata quickly got up from bed when she heard Sakura speak, "Um...nothing, I-I'm fine."

"Its about Naruto isn't it?" Sakura asked. Of course, she was many who knew of Hinata's crush for Naruto, although she still never understood how he doesn't know yet.

"I'm just so worried about him." Hinata said quietly, "I just wish I could have been more helpful to him."

"Hinata, don't worry about the negative side of this." Sakura said. She got out of her bed and sat down next to the Hyuga. "Naruto's always found a way out of difficult situations, even those that seem impossible."

* * *

"All of you must really care about Naruto to go this far for him." Temari said. 

Shikamaru and Temari were still on the borderwall of the village. While Temari was facing towards the outskirts, Shikamaru was leaning on the rail of the wall.

"Well, he's a strong-willed ninja." Shikamaru replied, "Despite his many flaws, he's actually a very friendly guy. I've never met someone who could be so friendly as him and have that kindness spread to others."

"Well, personally, I'm glad that I met him." Temari said. Remembering past memories with Gaara before and after they met Naruto.

"What was it like before?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hmm?" Temari asked, suddenly remembering that she was with Shikamaru still.

"Before meeting Naruto, what was it like?" He asked again. He noticed that Temari suddenly changed her face to look of a frown, "I'm sorry, it wasn't my business to ask."

"No, its ok." Temari said, "I just didn't expect anyone to ask me that question." She took a deep breath and answered, "For the few years before the Chunin Exam, things were very frightening."

...Flashback...

"Gaara, you will obey the orders of the your sister." Kankuro commanded.

Gaara was standing alone, before Kankuro and Temari as they were making preparations to head to Konoha for the Chunin Exams.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do." From the calabash that was strapped to Gaara's back, small amounts of sand poured out.

"Gaara, stop that this instant!" Temari commanded.

"What did I just say?" Gaara asked, his eyes giving a look that brought fear in both his older siblings.

The sand then grew to a large size and began to swirl around the three. Kankuro and Temari looked around them as the sand was blocking them from escape.

"You know I have the power to kill you." Gaara said. His lips curled upward to show an evil grin, "But that would lower our chances of a successful invasion of Konoha." With that, the sand traveled back into Gaara's calabash, "So I'll tell you once more; don't tell me what to do."

...End...

"Everytime he threatened to kill us, I was always afraid, "Temari said, "I always thought that the next threat would be the last one and he would finally kill us." Her eyes began to mist over from all the memories, "Everytime it happened, I found myself hating Gaara for being that way, but I could never show him how much I hated him. But afterwards, I realized that I simply loved him and was hoping for the the day that he would change."

...Flashback...

Gaara sat at his desk, looking over notes that were given to him. He knew the amount of paperwork would come when he accepted the position as Kazekage. He then heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Temari came walking through. "You asked to see me?"

"Yes I did." Gaara got up from his chair.

"Is something wrong Gaara?" Temari asked.

There was no answer for the time, for Gaara didn't know how to say this. "Yes, there is."

"What is it?" Temari asked. Ever since Gaara had become Kazekage, she had seen many changes in him, most notably, he no longer disrespected either her or Kankuro.

"I've never had the time to say it, for I didn't know how to." Gaara said. He looked down to the ground, thinking over the words he planned to say. "I...I..."

"Gaara?" Temari was confused as to what her younger brother was trying to do.

"I'm...sorry..."

Temari's eyes went wide form surprise. She heard him say those words before, but the way he had said it now, it was different.

"I'm..sorry for everything I ever did to you and Kankuro." Gaara said, "All those times I said I hated you and threatened to kill you...I'm very sorry." Tears were now forming over the red-haired leader.

"Gaara." Temari came over to her brother and embraced him in a hug.

...End...

"I'm glad things worked out between you two." Shikamaru said. Though he never had a younger sibling to care for, he had a basic idea of how she must have felt, for on a number of occasions, he showed great care for his teammates, treating them like family.

Temari wiped away the tears in her eyes, "Its getting late. You should head back to sleep."

"What about you?" Shikamaru asked, "Shouldn't you sleep to?"

"I'm not really tired." Temari answered.

Shikamaru simply shrugged and proceeded to head back to where Rock and Kiba were sleeping.

"Shikamaru..."

He turned back to see Temari when she called his name.

"Thank you...for listening." She put on a soft smile.

"Anything for a friend." He smiled back. He turned to continue walking.

"Wait." Temari called to him again. He turned with a questioning look, "There's a restaurant that's still open. You care to join me?"

"Well, I didn't really eat much since I left home." Shikamaru looked back at the food that he had to suffer with during their two day trip to Suna, "That'd sound nice."

Temari smiled at his response. She walked to Shikamaru and the two walked together to where this restaurant was.

"You know, its nice to see you when your not carrying that oversized fan." Shikamaru said, "It gets rid of the vibe of you wanting to kill someone."

"What was that supposed to mean?" Temari asked with a fist held up ready to punch.

"Hey calm down. I didn't mean anything by it." Shikamaru waved his hands in front of his face in a pathetic form of defense. _Geez, how troublesome. Why did I choose to go to dinner with her?_

_

* * *

_**Ok, I've been getting pm messages from people wondering the same thing.**

**And my answer is this.**

**Yes, Sasuke will be in this story, but he won't make an appearance for a while. He'll have a big role eventually, but it needs to wait.**

**Anyways, please review. Reviews are what motivates me to keep writing this story.**


	6. The Lost Is Found

**Well, this chapter was honestly a somewhat difficult chapter to right. I didn't know how to have the current problem solve at the time, but I finally found one recently.**

**Anyways, please review. I love reviews(no flames)**

* * *

The group was back on duty of searching for the scroll. After several more hours of searching, they were completely through the entire medical section of the library. 

"This is hopeless." Sakura complained, "We checked all the shelves and even double checked them. Still, we get nothing."

"Maybe it was mis-shelved." Hinata suggested, "Or maybe it could be under a different section."

"That could be possible." Temari said, "We've had occasional times where a document was shelved in an incorrect area."

Well, that's just gonna make things more difficult." Kiba groaned, "We had enough trouble searching one section. What hope do we have in searching the entire library."

"Well then we need to search fast." Lee threw his fist up in hope, "Naruto is depending on us."

"But what more can be done?" Kiba asked. He fell to the floor, landing on his bottom. "We were already working hard to search for it."

"Are you going to give up?" Lee asked. He leaned down to bring his face closer to Kiba, "Are you planning to fail another mission?"

A vein popped in Kiba's head, "Don't say that crap to me! I wasn't trained by Guy-sensei, I'm trained to track, not track with impossible odds!"

"Stop it!" Sakura screamed, "You two are hopeless!" She stormed off, leaving the library.

"Good one, kiss-ass." Kiba growled.

* * *

Sakura was sitting on the steps of the library entrance. Her head was resting on her knees as the sun was shining on her back. Kiba was right; what hope was there? They've searched the shelves twice and found nothing. She slowly began to think that they might lose Naruto. 

"Sakura?" Shikamaru sat by her side, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sakura wiped the tears off her eyes, "I'm just stressed."

"We're all stressed." Shikamaru replied. The most he could do to comfort the pink-haired ninja was put a hand on her shoulder.

"What other options do we have?" Sakura asked, "If its not in the medical section, where else could it be?"

"Hmm..." Shikamaru was hoping for an answer to pop into his mind. "Wait." A sudden realization came into his mind, "When we looked through the medical section, we only found common types of treatments."

"Yeah." Sakura replied, agreement with his statement. She remembered that all the documents she found were for broken bones, flus, ripped tendons, and other common types of medical treatments.

"Tsunade-sama told us that this medical-nin was known to be the first to find a cure for comatose victims." Shikamaru spoke again, "If she was the first, and it wasn't in the medical section." Shikamaru paused. Sakura was waiting for him to finish.

"What?" She asked, "Then what?"

"It's gotta be in the history archives." He finished.

"You're a genious!" She threw herself at Shikamaru. "Thank you!"

"Agh. Get off of me." He tried to gasp for air. _Geez, how troublesome._

* * *

The group was now scouring through the three shelves that had information one the history ten years ago. They were all divided to search each of the three shelves. 

While Kiba was searching the shelves with Lee, Akamaru startedto bark with a sense of uneasy feelings.

_Oh boy._ Kiba knew very well what that feeling was, "Lee, I gotta take Akamaru for a break. Otherwise he'll stink up the place." He left the library with his large dog and made their way to a private place for Akamaru to take care of his business. _Oh man, I think I need to go too._

While Akamaru quickly finished up with his mess, Kiba was still behind the bushes.

"I can't belive I was holding it in for six hours." Kiba said. He zipped up his pants and walked over to Akamaru, "Come on boy, we gotta get back." Suddenly, Akamaru started to run off, barking as he went, "Hey! Akamaru, come back!" He chased after his grey furred dog. _What's got him acting up like this._

Akamaru finally stopped in front of another dog. This one seemed to be of the same breed as his. Kiba finally caught up with him. "Akamaru, you can't just run off like that. You know I get really worried when you do."

"Kinara?" A female voice called out, "Kinara, where are you?" Kiba looked up and saw a girl running to his direction. By the uniform she wore, she was most likely a chunin and fer face made her seem to be around Kiba's age. She kneeled down by her dog and stroked the dog's head. "There you are. What gotten into you?" She looked up, seeing Akamaru. "Oh, looks like you met a friend." She then looked up to Kiba, "Hi."

"Um...hi..." Kiba smiled, but a small tinge of pink entered his cheeks. "Um...My name's Kiba."

"I'm Reiko." She smiled. Her hair was a color that matched the sand around the village, but had more emphasism to it, making it seem almost alive. It reached down to her shoulders, with small strands hanging over her forehead. Her eyes were dark hazel and contrasted perfectly with her hair. She wore a forehead protecter that had the symbol of the shinobis of Suna. "This is Kinara. I was stopping by a stand to get some food for her, but she ran off. I guess I can see why." She looked down and saw how their dogs were enjoying eachother's company. "I haven't seen you around here. You're from Konoha aren't you?" She asked, seeing the symbol on his forehead protector.

"Yeah, I'm here with a team to find a document in Suna's library." Kiba answered.

"You mean you're part of the Konoha team that came yesterday?" Reiko asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know when we arrived?" Kiba asked.

"I work as a medical-nin. I was the one who checked up on Gaara after he returned from being captured last year." Reiko answered, "I overheard of how someone from Konoha needed help from him.."

"You think you can help us?" Kiba asked, "We've been searching for two days now."

"I'll do my best." Reiko answered with s sweet smile, "Come on, Kinara."

"Akamaru, let's head back." Kiba called to his companion.

* * *

Kiba arrived back at the library, with Reiko following. Upon arriving, the others noticed the unfamiliar face that was with Kiba. 

"Um...who is that?" Ino asked.

"Oh, this is Reiko." Kiba answered, "I thought she could be of some help."

"Well, I don't think she could be of any better help." Sakura groaned in disappointement, "We searched every shelf, its still not here."

"What are you looking for?" Reiko asked.

"A scroll that was used by a medical-nin ten years ago." Ino answered, "The scroll was able to bring a person out of a coma instantly."

"Well, you're not going to find it in here?" Reiko answered. The Konoha shinobi all gave a look of disappointment from wasting their time in this area, "The scroll's a very valuable one, it'll be in the hospital's medical vault."

"A vault?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, doesn't Konoha have one for their hospital?" Reiko asked. Seeing that Sakura shook her head as a no, she simply chuckled, "Well, that explains why you've been wasting your time here. I can get the scroll for you, but I can't guarantee that I could get it so easily. The vault is under high security, ever since the attack that led to Gaara-sama's capture. The vault gaurds won't let anybody in so easily."

"Then maybe we should talk to Gaara about it." Shikamaru suggested, "Since he's the Kazekage, they'll let him have access to the vault."

* * *

"I see." Gaara sat behind his desk with his chin resting on the back of his hands, "I can't believe I didn't notice this earlier. The vault would have been the perfect place to store such a valuable medical jutsu scroll." 

"Reiko tells us that no one is allowed in the vault unless they are either hig-classed medical-nin or if one has the permission of the Kazekage." Kiba said, "Which is why we're here."

"I understand." Gaara replied. He took a sheet of parchment from his desk. Taking a feathered pen that was on an ink bottle, he began to write down on the parchment. Once he finished, he put the pen back into place and gave it to Sakura, "Give this to the vault gauds, they'll let you in."

"Thank you Gaara." Sakura bowed.

"Its the least I can do Naruto." Gaara responded. Remembering how Naruto nearly risked his own life to save his, he didn't know how he could repay him, "Well, I wish you the best of luck with saving Naruto." His lips curled upward into a smile.

The female Konoha shinobi couldn't help but blush once more upon seeing Gaara's sweet smile.

"Ok, you're scaring my little brother here." Temari shoved the group of girls out of the office. The boys followed behind her, not wanting Kankuro to push them out as well.

"Well, now that we know where to go, let's get going." Sakura said.

"Its kinda late." Ino said, "We've spent quite a long time in the library. Why not go tomorrow morning."

"I agree with Ino." Shikamaru replied with a wide yawn, "I'm really beat. I still didn't catch up on my sleep from last night."

"What were you doing last night?" Sakura asked.

"He went out to dinner with Temari." Kiba answered, "I was able to smell food from him when he came back to the room."

"Well, since we know that it'll be there, I guess a night's rest won't hurt." Sakura said.

* * *

"Kiba?" Reiko picked up on her pace to walk next to Kiba. "You doing anything tonight?" 

"Uh...no, not really. Why?" Kiba answered.

"I usually take Kinara out for a walk around nighttime. She really enjoys running around with the moon shining." Reiko said as she patted her companions head softly, "You want to join me? I'm sure Akamaru might anjoy it too."

"What do you say?" Kiba turned to his own companion. "Want to go for a walk?"

Akamaru barked in agreement. Kiba smiled and turned to Reiko, "Let's get going." The two made their way to where ever Reiko took Kinara for her walk. "Do you think we could get some food afterwards?"

* * *

The next day, the Konoha ninja all gathered in front of the hospital. Once they were all there, they proceeded to enter the building. 

"Good morning." The receptionist greeted them with a small bow, "How can I help you?"

"Can you tell us where the vault is?" Shikamaru asked, "Gaara-sama requested that we retreive a document there."

"Oh, well if you put it that way. Its down the hall to your left. Make a right once you reach the end and go down the stairs." The receptionist pointed to the direction of the hall.

"Arigato." Shikamaru smiled. He turned to the group hat was a few steps behind him, "Follow me."

Following the directions that were told to him, he led the group through the hall and down the stairs. When they reached the end of the hall, they stood before a large stone doorway. There was nothing too interesting about the door, it was just a simple stone double door. At the bottom of the doors, several gaurds were standing there.

"What brings you here?" One of the gaurds asked.

"We're here to pick up a document." Shikamaru said, "By the request of Gaara-sama." He turned to Sakura, giving her a look that she knew meant, '_The parchment!_'. Sakura took the parchment from her pouch and handed it to Shikamaru. He gave the parchment to the gaurd.

"Very well, you may enter." The gaurd stepped back, allowing the Konoha ninjas to walk towards the door. The other gaurds did the same as well.

With the help of two of the gaurds, the door was opened and the ninjas found themselves in a large room with many shelves.

"Aww, not again." Kiba complained, "More shelves?"

"Hey, calm down." Reiko placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "This won't take long." She walked into the large room and went to one of the shelves at the far back. She was far from their hearing, but few of them were able to make out some mumbling from her, "Let's see...ten years ago...coma...no, not here...um..." After several minutes of waiting for an update, a sudden loud voice got their attention, "Found it!"

Hinata jumped up slightly from the startling unexpected voice. When Reiko returned with a scroll in hand, she rushed over to her.

"Is this it?" She asked.

"Yup." Reiko smiled, "This is it."

* * *

"I'm glad you were able to find it." Gaara said. 

"Well, we didn't really find it." Kiba responded with small, unnoticable guilt, "Reiko actually did."

"Well, give my thanks to her when you see her." Gaara smiled, "I'm sure you must be wanting to go back to Konoha to treat Naruto."

"I'm on my way to Konoha to meet Tsunade-sama, I'll accompany you there." Temari said.

"Perfect." Sakura smiled, "We'll leave right away."

* * *

The group was now all preparedfor their trip back home. They all went back to their rooms to gather their belongings, not wanting to leave anything behind. They all met together at the front gates of the village. 

"Are we all ready?" Temari asked.

"Looks like it." Shikamaru answered, "Let's go."

As the group prepared to leave, a sudden voice from the village caught their attention.

"Kiba!"

Kiba turned around, looking back at the village. Reiko was running down the path with Kinara behind her. "Reiko?"

"You're leaving without saying good-bye to me?" Reiko asked, looking slightly hurt by this.

"Uh...sorry..." Kiba scratched the back of his head, "I didn't know where to find you. I would have searched, but we had to leave right away."

"Well, since I found you, I guess we can good-bye properly." Reiko smiled.

"Yeah. Well, I guess this is good-bye then." Kiba smiled back.

"You promise you won't forget me?" Reiko asked.

"Of course not. I'll also remember to write once in a while." Kiba answered, "Right Akamaru?" His canine companion barked in agreement.

"Kiba, come on, we gotta get going!" Ino called from a distance.

"Sorry, I gotta hurry." Kiba said, "Hopefully, I'll see you again." He turned and ran off, meeting back up with his temamates.

"Bye, Kiba." Reiko smiled as he and Akamaru took off, "Come on Kinara, let's head home."

* * *

Naruto's body was placed on a table in the center of a large room. One machine was connected to his body, which showed his brain condition. Around the table, Tsunade, Sakura, and Ino stood, prepared to perform the new jutsu that was learned. 

"Are you ready Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai." Sakura nodded. She walked over to Naruto, holding the scroll in her hand. Remembering how she had to do this, she opened the scroll and laid it on Naruto's body. "_Shin Saisei no Jutsu_!" She ran her lift thumb over the scroll. The words on the scroll began to light up brightly, eventually covering Naruto's body. When the light faded, Sakura looked at the machine. "What's going on?"

"I don't understand." Tsunade looked at the machine monitor in confusion. To what the screen showed, the jutsu had no effect on Naruto's condition.

"Maybe Sakura doesn't have the proper chakra control for it." Ino suggested, "Or maybe she doesn't have enough chakra."

"Ino, you and Sakura do it together." Tsunade commanded, "If what you said is true, then maybe both of your chakra might be able to make it work."

Doing as ordered, Ino walked over to the table, standing on the other side of Sakura. Sakura had a look of determination in her eyes and also gave hope to Ino.

"Let's do this." Ino said with s smile.

"Hai." Sakura nodded and smiled.

Together in unison, the two performed the jutsu. "_Shin Saisei no Jutsu_!" They both ran their thumb over the scroll, creating the same light as before. Tsunade looked at the monitor. It showed that a sudden burst of energy entered Naruto, but then dropped back down to before.

"Do it again." Tsunade commanded.

"_Shin Saisei no Jutsu_!"

* * *

Outside the room, Shikamaru, Temari, Kiba, Lee, and Hinata sat on the cushioned seats. While the others were waiting patiently, Hinata was twirling her thumbs around in her hands, worried if something might go wrong, and anxious for an update. 

Kiba, seeing the look of worry in her eyes, got up from his seat and sat down next to her. "Hey Hinata, It'll be alright. You know Naruto wouldm't go down without a fight."

"I'm just really worried." Hinata said quietly. "I know Naruto has been in the hospital from battle, but this...its never happened before." Her eyes slowly began to produce tears. She rested her head on Kiba's shoulder, seeking comfort from anyone to help her with this worrying pain.

At first, Kiba had a feeling on uneasiness. He's never had to do something like this for Hinata before. As a matter of fact, he's never had to do this overall. Helping a girl with issues like this was new for him. Thinking that it was the best thing to do, he brought his arm up, behind Hinata and placed his hand on her shoulder.

_Wonder what Reiko would do if she saw me._

* * *

"_Shin Saisei no Jutsu_!" The repeating of the technique began to wear down the two girls. 

"Keep going!" Tsunade ordered. This time, she was with the two to help along with the process. "Together."

"_Shin Saisei no Jutsu_!" While Sakura and Ino ran theur thumb over the scroll, Tsunade pumped in her chakra in the same manner as a normal healing jutsu. _Please Naruto, come back._

When the light from the scroll faded once again, Tsunade looked at the monitor. She sighed in defeat when nothing new appeared.

"Naruto! Wake up!" Sakura screamed, "You can't do this to us! Not after the trouble we went to save you!" Knowing that she would get no response from him, she fell on her knees and had her head on Naruto's chest. She bean to cry as she realized that it was now hopeless.

"I'm sorry Sakura." Tsunade looked at the pink-haired ninja in guilt. Not even the combined strength of three of them was enough to save Naruto. As she prepared to clean all the equipment up, a strange sound from the monitor got her attention.

Ino looked over to the monitor to see what it was. Sakura lifted her head up for the same reason, but instead of looking at the monitor, she looked at Naruto's face.

"Is he..."

"Naruto?" Tsunade looked at the blonde genin's face, "Naruto, can you hear me?"

His chest slowly lifted up from a large inhale and he opened his eyes.

"Where...am I?"

* * *

**I didn't know what to do regarding on how they find the scroll. One idea was that they find it in the history section of the library, but that would have made the chapter short. The next was that Gaara finds it in his office, stored in a secret cabinet that his father had, but that seemed a little stupid. The next was the idea of a medical vault in the Suna hospital. It seemed to work; Konoha wouldn't know about the vault since their hospital doesn't have one.**

**Regarding the new character I have. I'm planning on pairing her with Kiba for the story. She'll also be of more help in later chapters.**

**Well, hope you liked this chapter.**

**Please review, please. I'm begging you to review.**


	7. Beginning of the Good and Bad

**Here's the long awaited chapter.**

**Please remember to read and review. Like I said earlier; reviews are what keeps me going.**

* * *

Two days passed by since he was finally awake from his coma, he was greeted with faces of friends who were relieved to see his eyes open again. He was dressed up back in his clothes and had his hospital-wear folded up nicely on the bed. He looked back to the many flowers that were on his nightstand, most of them being from Hinata, strangely. 

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto replied, pushing himself to a sitting position on the bed. The door opened and Sakura came in, which brought a smile to his face. "Sakura-chan."

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked.

"Very hungry." Naruto groaned. His stomach then groaned the same way, which made Sakura giggle in amusement. Naruto decided to change the subject, "Was I really out for a month."

Sakuras smile faded. "Yeah. You had lots of us worried."

"Well, I didn't mean to." Naruto frowned.

"I know you didn't." Sakura replied, "I'm just glad your alright." She took the clipboard that was at the foot of Naruto's bed frame. "Well, I think you can leave later today. A doctor's gonna come to take a blood sample from you."

"Why can't you do it?" Naruto asked, "That way, I can leave sooner."

"Well, its not my position to do that." Sakura answered. She put her smile back on, "Don't worry, you'll be out in no time."

Naruto grumbled in defeat, "Alright, fine." Naruto fell back on his back, landing his head softly on the pillow, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he noticed Sakura staring at him. "Sakura?"

"I...almost thought you'd be gone...for good." Sakura said, her smile now completely faded, replaced with a frown, "I felt horrible when Sasuke-kun left Konoha, but knowing that I almost lost you, it hurt so much." Tears began to form on the pink-haired konouchi's face. She remembered when Naruto came looking as pale as snow, and then suddenly dropping into a coma unexpectedly, followed by almost a month of worry.

"Sakura, I'm fine though. You saved me, you brought me back." Naruto got up from the bed, "I knew you would be able to save me."

"I just don't know how I could live with losing you too." Sakura said, "You've been my closest friend ever since you came back home. You're like my brother."

"Sakura..." Naruto moved closer to Sakura, resting his hands on her shoulders, "I promised you that I'd bring Sasuke back home. Nothing is gonna make me break that promise. You see me as family, and I see you as one too. That means I'll have to keep my promise more than ever." Naruto moved in a hugged Sakura, "I promise you, nothing is going to keep me from bringing Sasuke back."

Sakura slowly melted into Naruto's warm embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. She slowly pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with her arms, "Sorry, for making this visit short, but I gotta check up on Lee." Sakura said, "He broke his leg in training."

"Typical." Naruto smirked, "I'm surprised Fuzzy Brows hasn't been kill from his training yet."

"I'll be back before you leave." Sakura smiled, "I'll see you then."

"Alright. Bye."

* * *

Naruto was finally able to leave. Sakura came to give him his clothes back, to which Naruto was relived from. He left his room and went through the hall and towards the exit of the hospital. Upon leaving the building, Hinata appeared holding an assortment of flowers. 

"Hinata?"

"Oh, Naruto-kun. Y-you're out already?" Hinata asked. She hid her face behind the flower, hiding her blush.

"Yeah." Naruto said with a smile, "Were you coming to see someone?"

"Actually, I c-came to see...you." Hinata blushed more brightly.

"Me? But why..." Something about what she said made something click in his mind. Remembering all the flowers on his nightstand back in the hospital room made Naruto come to a realization. Naruto put on a fozy grin and leaned over to Hinata, "You like me, don't you?"

Hinata suddenly changed from a bright red face to a pale face of realization that she was discovered. Without saying another word, she dropped the flowers and proceeded to run the opposite direction.

"Hinata!" Naruto realized that Hinata was now running away from him and decided to follow.

_What do I do now? How could I be so stupid? Giving him all those flowers, I should have known he'd find out that way. _Hinata continued to run, but why was she running? She had no reason to run, but something in Naruto's words made her feet act on their own.

Naruto panted heavily as he kept running. He never expected Hinata to run so fast for so long. He needed to know some things, he wanted to talk to her about it, but unless she was actually there to talk to, it would get him nowhere. Luckily, Naruto had a basic idea of where she might be running to. When Hinata continued to run straight forward, Naruto made a turn into an alley way. _Better remind myself to thank Konohamaru for teaching me the shortcuts around here after this._

* * *

Hinata looked back after running for a few more seconds. When she saw that Naruto was no longer behind her, she slowed her pace down, walking the rest of the way. She felt horrible for running away from Naruto like that, she never thought she would ever do that, but something about the situation she was in made her run away. 

She continued to walk, until she found herself at the front of her home. She sighed in relief that she made it without Naruto finding her.

Suddenly, something from the roof of her house fell before her.

"Ow." Naruto sat on the ground rubbing the top of his head.

"N-naruto-kun..." Hinata blushed brightly when she saw him.

Naruto looked up and saw Hinata, remembering the reason why he was here. "Hinata." He quickly got up, "Why'd you run? All I want is an answer to my question."

Hinata looked down to the ground, unable to find the best way to answer him. "I...um...well..." She began to tent her fingers in her usual fashion.

"Hinata, do you like me, or not?" Naruto asked.

Hinata didn't answer with words. The most she could conjure up was a small nod, while still looking at the ground.

"Um..for how long?" Naruto asked.

"E-ever since I saw y-you at the academy." Hinata managed to get out from her voice.

Naruto looked at her in disbelief. They both started at the academy over 5 years ago. "Oh, wow...I...um...I don't know what to say." Naruto scratched the back of his head. All this time, Hinata's developed a crush on him, but he remained oblivous to it. He now felt completely stupid.

"I...understand if you...don't feel the same way." Hinata said quietly. Her face was still down to the ground, avoiding eye contact with Naruto. From where Naruto was standing, he could see drops of water coming from her face and landing on the ground below her. She slowly turned to walk into her house, "I have to go now."

"Wait, Hinata." Naruto reached out and grabbed her hand before she went in. When Hinata turned and saw that he was holding her hand, she blushed. Naruto, now aware of why she used to blush so much in the past quickly released his grip on her hand. "Um...well, I'm not really an expert in this sort of thing. But maybe I can give this a shot." Naruto then saw the smile on Hinata's face. "How about we go hang out sometime? Just us."

"I...I'd really like that." Hinata smiled. She wiped her eyes with her jacket sleeve.

"Well, you doing anything right now?" Naruto asked.

"Actually, I have training with Neji-nii-san." Hinata said with a tone of regret, "Sorry, Naruto-kun."

"Ok, um...how about tomorrow?" Naruto asked, "Maybe around 3:00?"

"I'd like that." Hinata smiled.

"Perfect, I'll meet you here then?" Naruto asked.

"Nhm." Hinata nodded with the smile still brightly on her face.

"Ok. Well, good luck in training." Naruto turned and ran off.

Hinata smiled brightly as she slowly turned to walk back into her mansion. She closed the door behind her and made her way to where Neji was.

"Hinata, your late." Hiashi said, who was standing with Naruto.

"Oh. Gomen." Hinata bowed, "I was...delayed."

"Who was it that you were talking to outside?" Hiashi asked.

"It was Naruto-kun." Hinata answered, cautiously.

"Naruto? You mean Uzumaki Naruto?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata gulped once before she nodded a 'yes'. Neji knew he had no right to be a part of this so he chose to step back and wait for this conversation to finish before saying anything.

"Hinata, you know I have had no complaints in him being your friend." Hiashi began, "But what do you possibly see in such a boy?"

"Naruto-kun...he...he helped me change into the shinobi I am now. If it wasn't for him...I...probably wouldn't have been as strong as I am now." Hinata answered, "He's shown me...that despite making mistakes, anyone can learn from them to be stronger." Hinata brought he face down, looking to the ground. "Whenever he's been with me, he's always supported me, even when he didn't mean to do it intentionally. I've always...admired him for it."

"Hm..." Hiashi folded his arms, "Neji." Neji looked towards him, "What do you see in him?"

"Well, he helped me change my views on life." Neji answered strongly, but at a level that showed he wasn't trying to sound too bold, "If it wasn't for him, I probably would still find myself hating the main house, and maybe eventually the entire village." Neji then began to reflect on that faithful day. He remembered how he lectured Naruto about how fate was decided for everyone and couldn't be changed. Then he remembered how Naruto said otherwise and defeated him in battle. "Despite some of the flaws he may have, I am proud to say he knows no dishonor."

"I'm impressed." Hiashi said, "But I still do not understand how you see these things in him." He turned to Hinata, who still had her head facing down. "Hinata." He put his hands on her shoulders, "Give me some time. I don't know him as much as you or Neji do." Hinata slowly brought her head up to face her father, "I won't forbid you from seeing him, but I will not have him disrupt lessons or training. Am I understood?"

Hinata's face brightened with a smile, "Hai Otou-san."

"Now, hurry and get to your training." Hiashi gave a small unnoticable smile, "Remember, dinner is at 6:00. I expect both of you there."

"Hai, Otou-san." Hinata bowed.

Hiashi then walked towards his office. Hinata and Neji ever really knew what he does when he's alone in his office, but it wasn't their business to ask.

* * *

(The next day) 

Naruto stood outside the mansion, waiting. He arrived a little earlier so he could make sure to not be late.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked over to the door and saw Hinata step out. She was dressed in her normal attire; her dark blue shorts and the blue and white jacket, but something about her made Naruto see her differently. He couldn't help but notice how cute she suddenly appeared to him.

"Hi Hinata-chan." Naruto smiled, "You ready?"

Hinata smiled and nodded. "Where are we going?"

"Well, are you hungry right now?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I didn't eat yet." Hinata answered.

"Perfect." Naruto reached out and grabbed her hand, "Let's get some ramen." He ignored the bright blush on Hinata's face, wanting to get some of his favourite ramen. As he pulled Hinata along, he noticed that she was blushing, "Oh, um...sorry." He released his grip on her hand, realizing that his action was gonna make the poor girl melt.

"It's ok...Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, you're finally out." Ayame said joyfully, "I was worried that you'd be in the hospital forever." 

"Well, I'm out now, and in the mood for some ramen." Naruto smiled.

"Of course." Teuchi said from the kitchen, "What would you like? It'll be on the house tonight."

"Two pork ramen." Naruto said, lifting his hand up, showing his index and middle finger signalling the number two.

"Coming right up." Teuchi smiled back as he prepared the noodles.

"Who's your girlfriend, Naruto-kun?" Ayame said with a sly smile.

Hinata immedietly blushed brightly from the remark.

"Um, this is Hinata, but she isn't my girlfriend." Naruto said.

"Oh, sorry." Ayame began to blush herself. "I'd be really embarrased right now, but after that incident with the cooking-nin three years ago, there's nothing more shameful than being fat from eating."

Naruto chuckled form the memory. He remembered how Ayame suddenly became fat when he was sent to rescue her from a band of cooking-nin who kidnapped her. That was a memory he wouldn't forget.

"Here they are." Teuchi came to the two teenaged shinobi and placed two bowls of ramen before them.

* * *

The Akatsuki gathered in a flood of trees, hiding from the eyes of the curious. 

"Stay here." Itachi commanded, "I want this done without any trouble."

"Oh, can I come Itachi-san?" Tobi asked, "I never got to see what Konoha looked like?"

"I'm afraid Deidara is in charge of where you go." Itachi replied bluntly.

Tobi quickly turned to his teacher. Despite wearing a mask, Tobi had a look of plead under the orange swirl mask.

"No." Deidara said strongly, "I'm not going."

"Please Deidara-senpai?" Tobi begged again, "Think of all the times I helped you."

"That's strike one Tobi." Deidara said coldly. Deidara always had a strict rule with Tobi; whenever he does something that annoys him, he marks that as a strike. Upon reaching the third, Deidara unleashes any form of pain upon Tobi, not deadly, but painful enough to make a point.

"If it wasn't for me, the Three-tailed beast would have been impossible to capture." Tobi said, bringing back the memories of the past missions.

"Strike two." Deidara's face was now showing signs of irritation.

"All I'm asking is to go with Itachi-san to see the village." Tobi said.

"Strike Three!" Deidara jumped at Tobi, hands out and ready to kill. His hands found their way to Tobi's neck and he began to strangle the poor masked boy.

"Enough!" Itachi's voice boomed loud enough to get their attention. "Kisame, keep an eye on them. I don't want this plan to be ruined."

"Of course Itachi." Kisame replied.

With that, Itachi left the group, leaving the forest and walking calmly and slowly up a large hill. Upon reaching the top, he looked down below. At the bottom of the hill, Konoha was there, peaceful as always, but not for long. With his arms stretched out, small thin strings of chakra formed and pulled in whatever it was attached to. From behind Itachi, a group of wooden soldiers marched up the hill, all connected to the strings.

"It's time we finished the job." Itachi said. "Once and for all."

* * *

Naruto rubbed his belly as he had five empty bowls stacked in front of him, while Hinata had finally finished her first. 

"That was great." Naruto commented on the meal.

_Where does it all go?_ Ayame asked herself. Everytime Naruto came to eat, he would always have so much ramen, but most often show no sign of a growing belly. Whenever it did it would be back to its original size the next time he came to eat.

"You ready to go Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Hinata smiled.

"Thanks old man." Naruto waved to Teuchi.

"Come back soon Naruto." Teuchi smiled back at Naruto as he and Hinata walked off.

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk, trying to sort through the large piles of paperwork that was stacked before her. 

"Why did I ever let Jiraiya talk me into this job?" She grumbled to herself. To her relief, a knock came from her door. "Come in."

Shikamaru entered through the door, "Hokage-sama." When Shikamaru opened the door completely, he was carrying a wounded man over his shoulder, "I found him just outside the gates."

"Bring him here." Tsunade got up from her desk, walking around it. Shizune approuched Shikamaru to help him carry the man.

"Where did you come from?" Tsunade asked the man, "What happened?" She kneeled down next to the wounded man.

"Puppets..." he man managed to wheeze out the words, "Puppets...came from nowhere...like a storm, it came...destroyed everything..." The man managed to take in one deep breath, but upon exhaling, he stopped.

"Wait, what puppets?" Tsunade asked the lifeless man, "What puppets?" She then remembered a moment when Team Kakashi and Team Guy returned from rescueing Gaara, she remembered Sakura mentioning about an Akatsuki member that was able to use an almost impossible amount of puppets for his use. "It can't be..."

"Hokage-sama!" A jounin bursted into the room in panic.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Puppets!" The jounin answered, "There are puppets coming from the east side."

_Oh no._ Tsunade got up, from her kneeling position. "They're after Naruto. Shikamaru, get your team to find Naruto and take him to safety."

* * *

The two sat on the grass, just off the edge of a riverbank. There was a small breeze that came, not too strong, but enough to keep the two cool while the sun shined on them. The breeze drifted through Hinata's long hair, flowing with the invisible force of nature. For the past three minutes, the two were talking about past memories, including missions they had together and what they have been doing before they met at the academy. Naruto made sure to exclude main details that involved the fact that he was the Kyuubi. 

"So all those times you kept blushing, and the times you kept avoiding eye contact with me." Naruto said, "That was because you liked me?"

Hinita nodded in slight embarrasment. She still wasn't too used to being around Naruto, now that he knows of her feelings.

"Well, why didn't you say anything before?" Naruto asked.

"Because...of...Sakura-san..." Hinata answered.

"Well yeah, I did like her, but what made you think anything actually happened?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I saw you two that...one night..." Hinata remembered the painful sight she witnessed. After the incident where Naruto unpredictably punched Sai and ran off, Hinata wanted to find him and comfort him, but Sakura got to it first.

"Oh..." Naruto also remembered that night as well. He, of course, didn't see Hinata there, but understood what could have made her upset about that night. "Hinata...you don't have to worry about Sakura."

Hinata's face slightly brightened in wonder.

"I'm not gonna lie, I really care for Sakura." Naruto said sternly, but in a way to not hurt Hinata, "I see her as my sister and close friend. I'm never gonna get anything more from that, but I'm happy with it."

Inside, Hinata was greatly relieved that she wanted to jump up and down in joy, or better yet, jump at Naruto and kiss him, but she resisted the urge. Instead, she simply sat there, blushing with a bright smile on her face.

"Oi! Naruto!"

Naruto looked over in the distance and saw Shikamaru running towards him. _Oh great, what does he want?_ He then saw Choji, Ino, and Iruka running towards him too, just behind Shikamaru. Something about this moment made Naruto sense some sort of trouble.

"Naruto, we need to get you somewhere to hide." Shikamaru said, "Hokage's orders."

"But why?" Naruto asked, "What's going on?"

"Puppets are about to enter the village for you." Iruka said. He gave Naruto a strong look that made him realize why the puppets are after him. Akatsuki sent the puppets. "We have to hurry Naruto."

"Ok." Naruto got up. "Come on Hinata." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet and the two joined the others in running.

* * *

From the east side of the village, the puppets marched towards the large wall that the village was inside of. From the crowd of wooden monster, one fairly large puppet moved ahead of the group, holding a very large hammer-like weapon. The puppet swung the hammer, hitting the wall, but left no sign of damage. The puppet continued to strike at the wall, swinging its massive hammer with more force, but still nothing.

From the army, another puppet came forward. The puppet was fairly small in size, about the same height as an average human male. The puppet's chest opened up to reveal a large drill hidden inside. The drill began to spin at a rapid pace, slowly moving towards the wall. As the drill came in contact, dust began to form. Once the dust cleared and the drill stopped spinning, it revealed that the wall was still intact, only with a small hole made from the drill.

Another puppet came forward, one that had six arms and four limbs from behind that appeared to be tails. Each of the arms and tails held a thick sword that was no doubt, coated in poison. The puppet used all six swords and pierced it through the small hole in the wall.

With that as some sort of help, the hammer-weilding puppet swung once more, but this time, at the blades that were wedged into the stone wall. The hammer struck the swords and the blades went further into the wall. In time, the swinging of the hammer and the piercing of the swords made the hole grow into many large cracks. With one last swing, the swords made the cracks grow bigger and made the wall weaker. The final hammer swung broke through the wall, creating a path into the village.

Itachi stood at the top of the hill, watching over the start of the invasion. He stood there calmly, but with determination in his eyes. _You won't get way this time, Uzumaki Naruto._

* * *

**Sorry about the long wait, but preparation for school got in the way.**

**Well anyways, like I promised; Akatsuki's plan has finally been launched.**

**I've also decided to have as much comedy in the story as possible. I'll have Tobi have his 'abused by Deidara' moments whenever the scene is on them.**

**For those of you who keep track of Naruto through the manga, I'll have it follow up on the new team Sasuke creates and the deaths of the selected Akatsuki members.**


	8. Naruto's Choice

**This story has made me realize alot of things about this site that I never knew until now. At first, I never knew what the hell a 'hit' was, now I realized that one 'hit' is one person who's looked at this story and I have alot of it.**

**Well anyways, enough of my talking, on the the story.**

* * *

People ran around in panic as the mass amount of puppets began to attack. Ninjas of the village made their stand to fight them. Knowing that destroying a puppet was not the same as killing, they didn't hold back. Even the Chunin made their stand to destroy every last one of them. 

While Iruka, Shikamaru, Hinata, Choji, and Ino guided Naruto through the large streets of Konoha, everyone else was at a seperate location to destroy the puppets. As this group of six made their way onto the main road, they were greeted by a small group of puppets.

"This isn't good." Naruto gulped.

Just as the puppets charged for an attack, a streak of white came and immobilized the puppets in a matter of seconds.

"Otou-san..." Hinata stood behind her father as he stood in his Gentle Fist stance to defend his daughter.

"Hinata, hurry and get to safety." He said. The tone in his voice clearly showed that he was concerned for her safety, something she didn't hear very often from him.

"Where's Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked.

"She's safe, I had her hide on our santuary of protection." Hiashi said. He turned his head to see Hinata's face, "Go there and stay there until I come to get you."

"Hai." Hinata nodded, "We need to get to my home, there's a place there that we can hide Naruto."

"I'll lead us there." Shikamaru said, "But I'll need you to guide me away from the puppets."

"I'll do my best." Hinata said.

"Hurry!" Hiashi ordered. He lost his focus from making this order. A puppet came from his blindspot and knocked him down to the ground.

"Otou-san!"

Two puppets jumped at Hiashi, each of their two arms portruded a blade that curved like a tiger's tooth. Knowing this was one of Sasori's puppets, the blades were probably poisoned. Hiashi closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate, but instead of the pain, he heard the soundof a jutsu being called.

"Rasengan!"

He opened his eyes and saw that Naruto was standing in front of him. Two shadow clones stood by Naruto's side, while the original had a Rasengan ball in each hand. The puppets shattered into pieces and the glowing chakra broke through them. The remaining puppets charged at Naruto, ready for their killing blow. He put his hands into his favorite seal and called out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" From what started off as three Narutos, twenty were now in the area.

"_Shihouhappou Shuriken_(Shuriken from All direction.)!" The twenty clones of Naruto jumped up and in unison threw shuriken at the remaining puppets that were in the area. Once the last of the bladed stars hit the target, Naruto's clones dispersed. The puppets all fell apart from the stars and were now out of commision. Naruto ran at each of them, finishing them off with several kicks to their joints.

Naruto stood triumpantly over the scattered puppet limbs.

"You saved my life." Hiashi got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "Never has a Hyuga needed the help of anyone."

"This doesn't look good." Shikamaru whispered to Ino. "You know how Hinata's father is like."

_Please don't Otou-san._ Hinata prayed that his father wouldn't see Naruto in any worse way possible.

"I cannot be any more grateful." Hiashi did something that surprised everyone in the area, Naruto the most. He bowed before the blond haired genin. "Arigato."

"Um...your welcome..." Naruto didn't really know what to do. No one has ever bowed to him before.

"Now, you must go." Hiashi said, "Hinata knows the way. Please keep her safe."

"I'll do my best." Naruto joined back with the group and they proceeded to follow Shikamaru.

_Uzumaki Naruto. I believe I might have a small sense of what my daughter sees in you now._

More puppets arrived, but this time, Hiashi was ready. Activating his Byakugan, he prepared himself for the worst.

* * *

Sakura charged forward to a four armed puppet that somehow resembled a tiger and a dragon. With her fists covered in her gloves, she jumped and landed one of her chakra enhanced punches, shattering the puppet into splinters. 

From behind, another puppet snuck up on her. It's two arms formed a weapon that appeared to be a giant hammer, and it was ready to crush Sakura under it. But before it made the move of dropping, small bugs began to crawl all over the puppet. In a matter of seconds, the puppet was consumed in the bugs and disappeared. From behind the puppet, the bugs all flew up the sleeves of Shino.

"Nice punch." Shino said.

"Thanks." Sakura smiled.

From another area of the village, Team Guy were grouped together for their line of defense.

Lee and Guy fought close for ultimate effect in battle. As one puppet came for the attack, both Guy and Lee attack in synchronized formation with a kick and then an uppercut. As more puppets came to attack, the two remained in sync with their attacks.

Neji was surrounded by a group of puppets that all seemed to be in the style of projectile attacking. Each of them prepared to launch many poison-tipped darts at the Hyuga. Sensing what to expect, he took the stance of the Gentle Fist. The darts all flew at him, but he was prepared, "_Hakkeshō Kaiten_(Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin)!" He began to spin rapidly around, surrounding himself with a barrier of bright blue chakra. The darts came in contact with the shield, but were delfected. The shield didn't stop from there, it continued to form, until the puppets in its vincity began to be pulled by the force. Eventually, the puppets were brought up to the sky and torn apart by the immense amount of chakra. Neji stood victorious as the pieces of the puppets fell from the sky around him.

Tenten made quick work of her puppets. She pulled out the scroll from behind her and opened it. "_Soushouryuu_(Twin Rising Dragon)!" Her scroll released a large puff of smoke. From the screen, many array of weapons shot out and hit each of the puppets that were near her. "Piece of cake."

"Tenten!" Neji pushed Tenten aside and with a calm motion of his hand, he punched a puppet that was prepared to stab the female Chunin. The puppet crumbled into its individuel pieces and fell to the ground.

"Thanks." Tenten smiled.

* * *

"_Gatsuuga_(Double Piercing Fang)!" Kiba and Akamaru spun at a speed that broke through three puppets that stood in front of them. Akamaru charged on his own and began to maul the puppets, treating them as if they were sticks for fetching. Defended himself with a kunai in hand kept close to Akamaru to make sure he stayed safe.

* * *

"_Nikudan Hari Sensha_(Spiked Human Bullet Tank)!" A large spiked ball came crashing at a group of puppets that stood in the way of Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, Naruto and Iruka. Choji changed back into his original form. "You go, I'll take care of them from here." 

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. Leaving his best friend behind, he led the others through the maze of puppets. Right now, their top priority was to hide Naruto from Itachi, for he was after Naruto, though the reason was still unknown to them. Of course Iruka knew fully well, but knew that he shouldn't tell the others. While Shikamaru led them to where the Hyuga mansion was, Hinata stayed right behind, so that she could take over leadership once they reach her home.

"Hinata, anything?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, just puppets." Hinata responded. Her Byakugan was activated to keep a lookout for any sign of Itachi. Not knowing what he looked like, she simply focused on a figure that Naruto described as being cloaked and calm.

Suddenly, a puppet jumped out from above. The group stopped in their tracks to avoid being under the puppet. This puppet had four very thin arms with more points o articulation that a normal arm. Suddenly, hands portruded blades and the arms extended out, aiming towards the group. Iruka quickly stepped forward and threw several tags on each arm. As each tag hit an arm, Iruka threw a shuriken at the hand, forcing it to fly back to the puppet's main body. Once each of the four arms were away from them, the tags exploded and the puppet was immobolized.

"Keep moving." Iruka commanded.

But before they could, three more puppets appeared in front of them. Iruka quickly threw kunai's with tags on them, each of them hitting the puppets. In unison, the tags exploded and the puppets were no longer a hindrance.

"Hurry!" Iruka waved his hand in a motion signaling to the others to keep moving. As they continuedto move, a larger puppet appeared. This one, being more of a reptilian type of puppet; it stood on all fours, with a large jaw and had a long tail, "I'll take care of this one."

Shikamaru continued to run to their derstination, followed by Ino, Hinata, and Naruto. Iruka looked back and the large puppet and reached into his pouch for his tags and kunais, but to his unfortunate luck, his pouch was empty. The puppet grabbed Iruka's left ankle with its tail and prepared to bring upon his doom.

* * *

As the group continued to run, Naruto suddenly heard a loud crash coming from where Iruka was. He turned back and the a large smokescreen of dust from that location. He looked on, hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was. His hope was shattered when he saw the large puppet's tail swing over with Iruka on the other end. The tail swung and slammed down to the ground. 

"Iruka-sensei!" Without hesitating, Naruto turned and ran back.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata saw that Naruto had run back. "Wait!"

Shikamaru looked back when he heard Hinata scream, he saw that she was pointing to where Naruto was. "Oh no, that idiot."

* * *

Naruto punched through the large puppet with his Rasengan. The puppet shattered into many peices of wood, leaving Naruto with Iruka. 

"Iruka-sensei." Naruto kneeled down beside his father-figure. "Iruka-sensei." He continously shook his body to get him to wake, but no success was made, "Iruka-sensei!"

This couldn't be happening, the one person who never treated Naruto like a monster during his childhood, the one who was like a father to him, he was gone. Tears came over Naruto's eyes from this realization.

"Iruka-sensei!"

The group arrived to the scene and looked in shock to see what made Naruto run back.

Hinata, seeing the immense sorrow in Naruto began to tear for his loss. Ino simply looked away, not bearing to see the lifeless body. Shikamaru simply gave a look of sadness of seeing Iruka.

"Naruto, we gotta keep moving." Shikamaru said, "We need to hide you."

Looking for something around him, Naruto began to turned his head in different directions. While the others were curious as to what this was about, Naruto finally stopped. Just to his left, there was a large rag that appeared to be what remained of a window cover. Naruto leaned over to the left to grab it. With the rag in hand, he brought the rag over Iruka's face. With tears still in his eyes and fear in his heart, he cautiously got up and went over to the group.

"Come on." Shikamaru turned on his heel and ran, followed by the others.

Naruto followed, but mid-way, something made him stop. He turned back to Iruka and just couldn't force himself to run anymore.

"Iruka-sensei..." He slowly ran back to the body, not wishing to leave it.

"Naruto!" Ino knew that Naruto had gone back.

Before the group could go to Naruto, more puppets appeared to block their path.

Naruto kneeled by Iruka's body. "Iruka-sensei, please...Don't die on me...You were the closiest thing to family I ever had..." He got no response, "Iruka-sensei, wake up."

More puppets began to surround him as he coninued to try and wake the lifeless body. Naruto looked up and saw the puppets preparing to come in to kill him. His look of sorrow suddenly changed to anger, knowing that these puppets werethe reason for this. His eyes slowly began to change from his bright blue eyes to a shade of blood red. His pupils began to change to slits, furthur showing his rage.

"Damn you all!" A suddenly burst of chakra escaped Naruto. The puppets that were closiest to him fell back from the force. Naruto now stood with a flow of red chakra surrounding his body. This shield of red energy took form of a fox that had four tails. Naruto stared at each of the puppets with pure rage and anger in his eyes. With a quick force off his feet, he dived and each puppet, destroying them one by one.

* * *

Jiraiya and Kakashi stood back to back as the puppets around them were all immobilized. They both smiled at their success, but then they sensed a strong force of energy coming from a location. 

"Naruto..." Kakashi quietly said, sensing that the energy was of the demon fox.

"I sense it too."

The two ran off to the location of where the chakra was originating from.

"I hope we're not too late." Kakashi said.

While the two ran through the path of destroyed puppets and walls, Yamato met with them from another route.

"I sensed it too." Yamato said, knowing fully well where Kakashi and Jiraiya were running to.

* * *

Naruto was on his hands and feet. He looked over at the carnage of shattered wood that was around him. The chakra barrier that took form of a four-tailed fox, completely hiding Naruto's true body inside it. 

Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Yamato arrived and saw what had become of Naruto.

"Oh no..." Kakashi lookedin shock at the sight before him. Naruto wasno longer visible to his eyes, all he saw was a miniature Kyuubi, but with less than half of the tails it originally possessed.

"Kakashi, I need you to try and hold him down." Jiraiya said. He grabbed seal tag from his pouch, "I need him to stay in one spot for this seal to work. It doesn't matter if you hurt him."

With a simple nod, Kakashi came towards the fox. He lifted up his headband to reveal his Sharingan, in hopes of making the job easier.

The fox quickly turned to Kakashi and hissed in a ghastly tone, showing that it was not going down without a fight. It jump forward to Kakashi with its claws out, but Kakashi dodged it. With him behind the fox, Kakashi grabbed it by its tail and threw it to a wall. He then pulled out six kunais and threw them at the fox, one piercing each shoulder and the others piercing each tail. The fox began to struggle, trying the break free from his pinned position.

Jiraiya quickly took out his talisman, preparing himself for the seal, but before he could fully prepare, the fox ripped himself through the kunai.

"Look out!" Kakashi tried to run at the fox to pull him down.

"_Hokage Shiki Jijun Jutsu: Kakuan Nitten Suishu_(Hokage-Style Sixty-year-old Technique: Enclosed Hermitage Return to Society)!" Yamato aimed his palm at the fox. From below, cracks began to form, which started to sprout out what appeared to be roots. The roots suddenly shot out, taking the form of dragons, and began to dive at the fox. The wooden dragons wrapped themselves around the fox, binding the beast and preventing it from attacking, let alone moving.

* * *

Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura stood in the mess of destroyed puppets and partially demolished buildings. They were lucky that the casualty for their side was little to none. Many of the ninjas they found wounded were quickly taken to medical treatment. 

"Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi called over to the Hokage who was just in eye's view.

The group of females ran over to Kakashi, Tsunade saw that he was holding Naruto over his back.

"Is he alright?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes." Kakashi answered, "But I'll need to speak to you privately about his condition later."

_His condition?_ Sakura was curous as to what he meant.

Tsunade then noticed that there was a Chunin's body on the ground with a rag over his face. She kneeled beside the body and lifted the rag. "Iruka..." She saw that that his face showed no life and that his body was greatly broken. Seeing that there was no hope in saving him, she got up and prepared to order for his body to be moved, but then, a sound of breathing followed by groaning came from him. "Iruka?" She saw that his face expressed immense pain, "He's still alive..."

* * *

Naruto sat by the bed Iruka was resting in. He couldn't believe that he almost lost someone so close to him. He almost lost Iruka because of what he is. Itachi wanted the Kyuubi, and attacked Konoha for it. He couldn't help but wonder; If Sasuke really is getting stronger, why hasn't he killed Itachi yet? 

Strength. That was it.

Naruto wasn't able to save Iruka because he lacked proper strength. He needed to get stronger, but how? With Kyuubi's power starting to slowly consume him, he needed to find a way to first control his Kyuubi chakra first and the village wasn't the best place.

He got up from his chair and made his way to the door. As he opened the door, he took one last glance at Iruka.

"I'm sorry Iruka-sensei, But I'll be back."

* * *

Naruto waited for the cover of night to make his plan work. Once the sun was down and moon was just at the horizon, Naruto made his way out of this building, and towards the gates of Konoha, all the while hiding from any people. Naruto passed by the street where many of the shops were, most notably, Ino's flower shop. As he passed by the closed stand, Sakura came out from the door. 

"Thanks Ino." Sakura smiled, "I'll be sure to tell Tsunade-sama first thing tomorrow." She looked down the road when she noticed an orange colored figure, "Naruto?"

Naruto finally made it to the gates. To his luck, there were no gaurds posted. _They must be in the middle of a shift._ Naruto knew it was now or never, this could probably be the only possible time he could get out unseen.

"And where do you think your going?"

A vein popped in Naruto's head, _Crap._

Naruto turned to face the one who caught him. Tsunade stood there with her hands on her hips and an amused look on her face. "You're not planning to run away are you? In the condition your in, I doubt you'll manage." She noted on the bandage wraps on his shoulders from the kunai piercings.

"I have to do this." Naruto insisted, "Please don't stop me."

"I told you before, Sasuke is a lost cause." Tsunade said, "Its been three years, just drop it."

"Its not about Sasuke right now." Naruto said with a tinge of irritation, "I'm leaving because of what happened today." He knew Tsunade had full knowledge of why Itachi sent puppets in Konoha. "If it wasn't for Ero-sennin, Konoha would have been destroyed anyways." Remembering that it was Jiraiya that sealed the power of Kyuubi back inside Naruto before it took complete control.

"Naruto, do you really need to do this?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai, more than anything." Naruto answered strongly. "This way, I won't hurt anyone during my training."

Tsunade grinned in amusement, "You're just like Jiraiya, always trying the make sacrifices for the best of others." Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm not going to stop you, but I'm also not going to let you go alone." Naruto looked at her in confusion, "I'm having Yamato go with you. That way, he can help if anything goes wrong."

From behind the trees, just at the gates, Sakura watched this conversation. How could this happen? Naruto is planning on leaving the village, and Tsunade was letting him go. After Sasuke left, Sakura was broken deep inside from the loss, but now she was going to lose another teammate and close friend. Just like how Sasuke walked out the gates, Naruto was going to do the same.

"I'll let you leave tomorrow night." Tsunade said, "That'll give you and Yamato enough time to prepare for however long your training will be."

"Thanks, Baa-chan." Naruto smiled.

Tsunade twitched when 'that' name was said.

* * *

**I'm starting to wonder why I'm not getting too many reviews.**

**Lots of people have added my story to their Favourite Stories and Story Alert.**

**I'd really like to know what all of you think of my story. So please remember to review after reading.**


	9. Depart

**Thanks for all the reviews.**

**Anyways, here's the update you've all been waiting for.**

* * *

"This is why I wish to have you go with Naruto." Tsunade finished explaining the situation to Yamato, who was unexpectedly called to the office by Kakashi, though even he didn't know why. "You must understand, even Naruto does not know how long he'll be gone, but you must be there for it all." 

"I understand." Yamato said.

"You understand the risk you're taking by doing this, don't you?" Jiraiya asked, looking down to Naruto.

"Hai." Naruto answered with a firm nod, "Its for the best."

"Then, you two will leave tonight." Tsunade said, "I'll inform the ANBU and other jounin to not stop you from leaving."

Yamato bowed and turned to head out the door, but Naruto stayed behind for a little longer, "Wait, Baa-chan. Could you not tell the others?"

"Others?" Tsunade asked.

"Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Kiba, none of them." Naruto named only a few of them, "I don't think they would understand, and they might try to stop me."

"I understand, Naruto." Tsunade responded, "I'll be sure to keep them oblivious about it, but what's to happen when they realize you're gone?"

"It won't matter." Naruto answered, "They would just have to wait for me to return."

* * *

From the other side of the door that led to the office, Sakura had her ear pressed on the wooden door, listening to the conversation between the four that were inside. She couldn't believe it; Tsunade-sama was actually going to let Naruto leave. Just like that, Sakura was now going to lose another one of her friends, and not just any friend, but one she saw as a loving brother. 

She then heard footsteps approuching. she quickly backed away from the door and ran down the hall. Yamato and Naruto left the office, walking down the hall opposite of Sakura. She sighed in relief, knowing that they won't see her.

"You really think Yamato can protect him?" Tsunade asked.

"Why ask me? You're the one who wanted him with Naruto." Jiraiya answered, folding his arms.

"But you witnessed his jutsu." Tsunade said, "You know of how powerful he is."

Jiraiya closed his eyes and sighed, "Knowing of Yamato's strength and will, he's the best choice in keeping the Kyuubi in check."

"I hope so." Tsunade said quietly. She looked on as Naruto and Yamato disappeared as they turned a corner.

* * *

The sun on its way to descend for the night. The blazing orb was halfway to hiding itself behind the mountains, illuminating the sky with its crimson rays. 

Naruto had decided to have one last meal at Ichiraku before leaving, knowing that it will be his last one for a long time. He still had some time left before he was to meet Yamato at the gates, even after having one too many bowls of ramen, but he didn't know what he could do. As he walked around the streets of Konoha, he came across Ino's flower shop. As he stopped and looked at the flower shop, he began to wonder abut a certain girl.

"Why not?" Naruto smiled brightly as he walked into the store. He wasn't surprised to find Ino standing behind the counter.

"Hi Naruto." Ino smiled, "What brings you here?"

"Well, why would I be in a flower shop, unless I didn't want flowers?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, and who are they for?" Ino asked, leaning over on the table with curious eyes.

"Geez, you really are nosy." Naruto muttered, "No wonder Sakura-chan calls you a pig." He kept that last remark low so that Ino couldn't hear him. "They're for Hinata-chan."

"Hinata?" Ino asked, "So you finally realized that she likes you?"

"You mean you knew too?" Naruto asked.

"I think almost everyone knew long before you ever did." Ino answered. She giggled at the face that Naruto made from realization. "Well anyways, since this is for someone special, I recommend getting her..." She sank behind the counter and began to search for something. "Hmm...this one? no...Ah ha." Ino popped back up and had a large boquet of white roses.

"Thanks." Naruto said, as he took the roses. With the large boquet in one hand, he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet, or 'Gama-Chan'. "So, how much is this?"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Ino smiled, "Its on the house."

"Wow, thanks." Naruto smiled.

"Maybe you can make it up to me tomorrow." Ino said with a suggestive voice.

As Naruto turned, his smiled dropped, _Sorry, but you won't find me here tomorrow._

As Naruto left the shop, Sakura came running in, just missing nim as he turned a corner at the end of the street.

"Ino!" Sakura rushed to the counter.

"Wow, what are you exhausted about?" Ino asked.

"Have you seen Naruto?" Sakura asked, still panting from all the running.

"Yeah, he just left a minute ago." Ino answered, "He came to get some flowers for Hinata."

"We need to find him." Sakura said, "He's planning to leave Konoha tonight."

"What?" Ino asked, shocked. "But..."

"Sakura-san! Kiba found him!" Lee answered, running towards the two girls. "We have to hurry."

* * *

Naruto walked down the streets, holding the flowers in his hand as he made his way towards the Hyuga mansion. 

"Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto looked back to where the voice came form and saw Sakura running towards him. That wasn't what worried him, but the fact that she was joined by several others, he began to panic. Behind her, Kiba, Lee, Ino, and Neji ran towards Naruto as well. "Oh no. They must know." Without hesitating, Naruto turned and began to run. As he ran, he brought his hands together into his favorite seal. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" four more Naruto shadow clones appeared and all five of them ran in different directions.

"Split up." Sakura commanded to the others. "Don't let him get away."

"Hai!" Lee was the only one to answer, as the others simply nodded.

All five of them split and chased after one of the Narutos.

* * *

Lee ran after Naruto, who was cutting corners in the alley, in hopes of trying to escape from Lee's sight. 

"Get back here!" Lee called out. _This is wasting too much time. He'll escape for sure._ While still running, Lee managed to pulled off his leg warmers. Kicking them aside, he darted at high speed to Naruto. He kept track of his movements, remembering where he left the legwarmers so that he can return to pick them up.

As Lee got in range, he jumped forward and tackled Naruto to the ground. The two shinobi fell on the dirt with Naruto flat on his back and Lee pinning him down.

"Where are you going and why are you even leaving?" Lee demanded, but instead of getting an answer, Naruto simply smirked as he suddenly disappeared, "Damn, a shadow clone."

* * *

Ino chased after her target, running through the streets of Konoha, desperate in catching Naruto. 

_Sakura didn't bother telling me why he was leaving._ Ino thought as she kept up her pace, _Maybe he'll tell me once I catch him._

As Naruto kept running, he thought he could try and lose Ino by jumping to the rooftops. He took a moment to make a small bounce, giving him the momentum for a full force jump to the top. Ino looked as Naruto went up and onto the roof of a building, but what happened next didn't seem to surprise her. Naruto slipped on the heel on his sandals and fell on his back, falling off the building.

"That was a little easy." Ino panted. She walked over to Naruto's body, "Oi, Naruto." She kneeled down beside his body and began to poke him. "Naruto..." Suddenly, his body dispersed into a puff of smoke. "Aw crap. It was a shadow clone."

* * *

The sun finally disappeared and the moon was slowly taking over the sky. Naruto still ran form his captors, not willing to reveal anything about what he was planning for tonight, but they still chased him. From what he sensed, everyone of them caught up with his shadow clones, except for Sakura, considering she was chasing the real Naruto. 

As Naruto kept running, he found himself running by the Hyuga mansion. Right in front of him, Hinata was walking towards the mansion, unaware of Naruto at the moment.

Hinata looked to her right and saw that Naruto was running towards her. She smiled when she saw him come closer, but instead of him stopping, he kept running. She simply stood there, confused as to whyNaruto had run past her as if she wasn't there, but she was more confused when she saw Sakura running past her as well. She turned around and looked on as the two slowly shrank in the distance.

"Naruto-kun..."

* * *

Naruto was getting exhausted from the running, but he knew he had to lose Sakura before he could meet with Yamato. He was running through the forest, in hopes of losing her in the trees, but Sakura was smarter than that. He finally gave in and stopped running, catching his breath in exhaustion. Sakura finally caught up with him and was panting as heavily as Naruto. 

"Why are you leaving?" Sakura asked in between her breathes. When she got no answer from him, she ran up to him and slapped him straight across the face, "WHY?"

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto's left cheek was now red from the slap that he had just recieved, but he didn't care about the stinging pain from it. He dropped the flowers that he still held onto, letting them fall onto the grass, "I have to."

"Why do you _have_ to leave?" Sakura asked. Tears were forming in her eyes, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave us?"

"For my own reasons." Naruto replied. What could he say? Hey Sakura, guess what? I'm the Kyuubi's reincarnation and I need to leave the village or else I'll kill everyone here. No, he couldn't go that far. "It's important for me to do so, but I'm not leaving anyone, I'll be back in time."

"Reasons? What reasons?" Naruto never made sense to her before, but the reason behind them were always simply because Naruto was just acting like himself, but this was different. Naruto had never made the decision to leave the village. The pain of the fact that Naruto was going to leave was just as equal as when Sasuke was going to leave the village. "At least tell me what you plan to do while you're gone."

"It's about the Kyuubi." Naruto answered. _Oh crap. You can't tell her that, she wasn't meant to know about it._

"The Kyuubi?" Sakura then remembered those few days ago. The day when Konoha was mourning the day many villagers of Konoha were killed by the Kyuubi. She remembered that Naruto never attended the ceremony. She then remembered Kiba telling her that Naruto punched Sai for making a reference of Kyuubi. She looked back into other events; she remembered the time when her teammates were on their way to save Gaara, she remembered that Akatsuki made refereance to Naruto about a jinchuruuki much more powerful than Gaara. Could this be the reason? Could Naruto be leaving because of those events? "Why do you have to make the Kyuubi _your_ responsibility?"

"Because I have to." Naruto responded, "It's personal."

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. The tears couldn't be forced back. Out of pain, she slammed her fists on Naruto, screaming. "WHY?!" She didn't stop hitting him, but Naruto didn't do anything about it. "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO FALL ON YOUR SHOULDERS?! WHY IS IT PERSONAL?! JUST TELL ME WHY!"

Naruto was now getting fed up with her. Despite heavy thoughts against it, he knew this would at least shut her up. He pushed her back, causing her to fall on the ground. "BECAUSE HE'S ME!" Naruto yelled back, he lifted up his shirt to show his stomach, which housed the location of the seal. He yelled louder than Sakura so that she could hear him. "THE KYUUBI?! He's me."

"What?" This feeling that came over Sakura was something she never felt before. Did she hear him correctly? Did Naruto just say that he was the Kyuubi?

"I'm the Kyuubi's reincarnation. It was all me. I killed all those innocent people all those years ago." Naruto said calm and firmly, "I killed your great-grandmother, your aunt, your uncle, and your grandfather."

"No...that can't be..." Sakura said, quietly, "That's not possible, you can't be. The Kyuubi was killed, everyone knows that."

"That was a lie." Naruto said, "The Kyuubi couldn't be killed. It had to be contained, like how the Shukaku was contained in Gaara. But for me, Kyuubi was changed into a human form."

Sakura's face looked down to the ground and had her hands over her face. She began to sob uncontrolably.

"This is why I need to leave." Naruto said, "Sakura, I need to control the Kyuubi, otherwise, he'll come out and kill many more people."

Sakura didn't respond. Naruto didn't want to take the time to wait for her to stop crying. He turned and began to walk away, leaving Sakura alone to cry her heart out. Naruto walked alone through the forest, but something stopped him.

"A-are you telling the t-truth?"

Naruto turned to where the voice came from. From behind the large tree, Hinata stood there, with tears in her eyes. Did she just listen to everything he told Sakura?

"Are you...really...the K-kyuubi?" She asked.

"Hinata..." Seeing Hinata cry was something Naruto didn't want to see, for some reason, he just wanted to walk over to her and wipe the tears off her eyes. "Do you understand why I couldn't tell people?"

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata walked away from behind the tree and towards Naruto. She stopped halfway, having her hands held together up to her chest. "That still doesn't change how I see you. I've always looked up to you Naruto-kun, no matter what you are, you're still the same person I always admired." Hinata said, trying to hold back any more tears.

"Hinata, don't make this harder for me." Naruto said. He knew he didn't _want_ to leave, he _needed_ to leave. Otherwise, people like her and Sakura would be in danger. "I have to leave, I'm doing this to protect you." With that, Naruto turned and proceeded to walk away.

Hinata simply stood there, even at the moment, she still couldn't bring herself to tell him how she truly felt. Her mind began to make decisions.

_You have to tell him._

_He might never come back, then you'll never be able to tell him._

_This is your last chance._

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran to Naruto. He stopped and turned when he heard his name being called, but when he turned he was immediently in the embrace of Hinata. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she was on her knees pressing her face on his stomach. "Please don't go. Please."

"Hinata..." Naruto was shocked by this, but the feeling he had was different, it felt...good. He gently brought his hands to hers and removed them from his body. He kneeled down in front of Hinata, her face was red, but not from her usual moments, her face was red from crying. "I need to go." He slowly brought his hands up to wipe the tears off Hinata's face.

The warmth of Naruto's hand on her cheeks was something she only dreamed of. She wanted to jump at him and kiss him, but she couldn't bring herself to go that far.

Naruto brought his hands to the back of his head and began to untie his forehead protector. He removed it from his head and placed them in Hinata's hands. "Can you hold on to this for me?"

"Your fore...head protector?" Hinata didn't understand why he gave this to her.

"Just so you know that I'll be back." Naruto said with a small smile. "I promise, I'll be back for it." He move forward and held Hinata in a hug. This feeling he had when Hinata hugged him was something he wanted to feel one last time before he left. "Hinata..."

Hinata was taking in this feeling on having Naruto hug her with meaning at last. "Naruto-kun?" Responding to when he called her name.

"I'm sorry."

"For...what?"

With one swift motion of his right arm, he smacked Hinata right at her left temple. Hinata didn't have anytime to collect what just happened. She didn't have time to realize that Naruto had just hit her. The force of the smack made her lose her conciousness.

"For that." Naruto gently placed her unconcious body on the ground. This was something Naruto didn't expect when he planned to leave the village. He wasn't hoping on hurting anyone when he left, both emotionally or physically. And of all people, Hinata was one too innocent for him to hurt. It made him sick to his stomach when he realized that he had just hit Hinata. But he knew it was either that or possibly not leave the village at all.

"You haven't left yet?"

Naruto looked over and saw Kakashi standing not too far from him.

"Can people just let me know they're there, instead of sneaking up on me?" Naruto asked. First, Hinata comes out of no where revealing that she heard everything Naruto told Sakura, now Kakashi appears out of nowhere, but that was his usual habit. "Can you take her home?"

"Of course." Kakashi responded calmly.

From the distance, Sakura was running towards them. "What did you do to her?!" Sakura ran to Hinata's side and checked to see if she was still alive. She noticed the spot where Naruto had hit her, which was shown with a small tint of red on her left temple. Naruto got up and stepped away from her.

"She'll be fine." Kakashi said. Sakura saw Naruto, she got up and proceeded to walk to him, but Kakashi had his hands gripped on her shoulders to stop her. "You better go quickly, Naruto. Yamato's at the gates."

Naruto nodded in agreement. He turned and walked away, ignoring the cries of Sakura calling his name. This was his choice, he needed to do this if he was to save Konoha. He knew he's risking his safety by abandoning his village, but he had a purpose behind it that would benefit the village's safety.

He made his way to the gates of Konoha. Yamato was standing at the exit with his arms crossed, "You're late."

"Sorry." Naruto answered, "I got a little sidetracked."

"It doesn't matter." Yamato sighed, assuming that it was Naruto, he had no 'proper' excuse, "Are you ready?"

"Hai." Naruto nodded.

The two walked past the gates and towards the unknown. Naruto didn't know where he would go, he didn't know when he would come back, but he knew this had to be done.

* * *

**This chapter was originally meant tobe a moment between Naruto and Sakura, but I suddenly remembered that this story was meant for a Naruto and Hinata pairing. To tell you the truth, I once posted this fanfic on another site, but there were lots of changes to it.**

**First, the fic was originally NarutoXSakura. Second, Naruto leaves because of bad terms between him and Sakura. Third, I ended up killing Tsunade. After finishing the story, I recieved very little reviews and the reviews I did get were criticisms, so I made some changes, kept up with the storyline of Naruto and made this.**

**Anyways, please review on it. I'm not asking for you to tell me how it was, but if any of you have questions regarding the story(but no asking for spoilers), I'll be glad to answer them. If you have some comments to make regarding some issues, I'm more than happy to hear them(as long as they stay clean and not too harsh).**


	10. What Happens After

**Wow, I didn't think I'd finish this chapter so quickly. Well, here's the update.**

* * *

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. She looked around her, the last place she remembered being in was the forest a small distance away from the gates of Konoha. She then remembered what happened, she got up, but her vision was blurry. 

"Whoa, easy Hinata." Kiba appeared to her left side and caught her, just before she fell. "You're still a little woozy."

"Where...am I?" Hinata asked, still unable to clearly see where she was.

"The hospital." Kiba said, "Sakura brought you here from the forest last night." He then leaned over to the side and looked at the bruise on Hinata's temple, "That's a pretty nasty hit."

Hinata's vision slowly started to go back into a crystal clear view. She rubbed her temple gently, which still gave off a small sting of pain when he put a small amount of extra pressure on it. Remembering more of what happened last night, she forced herself to sit up. "Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, "Did he...?"

"I'm sorry Hinata." Kiba frowned, "Sakura told me everything. He's gone."

Hinata's eyes began to fill with tears. She had hoped that everything that happened last night wasn't real and that the bruise on her temple from from an accident, but now she knew it was true. She burried her face in her hands as she cried uncontrolably.

* * *

"How could you let him go?!" Sakura yelled. 

Kakashi simply stood there, apparently not interested in this arguement. "Naruto made a choice, Tsunade-sama agreed to it and ordered me to not stop him. I'm not one to oppose what the Hokage ordered. Besides, Yamato is with him, that'll keep the Kyuubi in check if the problem should arise."

Sakura's rage slowly faded, remembered that she now knew of Naruto's secret, she had to ask, "Kakashi-sensei, that day when Itachi sent Sasori's puppets to attack, you told Tsunade-sama something about Naruto's _condition_." Sakura still had that momery fresh in her mind, "Were you talking about...the...Kyuubi?"

Kakashi sighed, "Yes." He looked down at Sakura. Seeing that she was still just as upset, now that both Sasuke and Naruto are gone, he tried to comfort her, "He promised that he'd come back. You know Naruto, he never breaks a promise." He smiled through his mask.

"But he also promised that he would bring Sasuke back." Sakura said.

"Which is why he promised he'd return." Kakashi answered reassuring her, "So that he can keep his promise to you."

* * *

Hinata slowly opened the door. She walked in the apartment, taking off her shoes as she closed the door behind her. She looked around Naruto's apartment, which apparently Naruto didn't take much time to clean. She walked around across the room and to the bedroom. Inside, there were clothes scattered everywhere, and manga lying on the floor with them. 

Hinata sat on the bed, holding onto the only piece of item that was left of Naruto. His forehead protector was the only item that gave Hinata hope that Naruto would come back.

...Flashback...

Naruto brought his hands to the back of his head and began to untie his forehead protector. He removed it from his head and placed them in Hinata's hands. "Can you hold on to this for me?"

"Your fore...head protector?" Hinata didn't understand why he gave this to her.

"Just so you know that I'll be back." Naruto said with a small smile. "I promise, I'll be back for it." He move forward and held Hinata in a hug. This feeling he had when Hinata hugged him was something he wanted to feel one last time before he left.

...End...

With determination in her eyes, she got up from the bed and went to the window. She opened it up and looked off into the horizon.

"I'm going to make your homecoming unforgettable." Hinata said with a bright smile on her face, "I don't know when you're coming back, but when you do, I'll be waiting." She looked back at the bedroom. She wanted to keep her word on making Naruto's homecoming unforgettable, and she knew how to start it off.

* * *

(Three years later) 

Hinata stood in the middle of the living room, holding a broom in her hand. She looked around the place with a smile of accomplishment. She walked over to the bedroom and looked at the clean room. She walked back to the living room, placing the broom back in the closet it came from. She sat down on the couch in the living room. She reached out for a picture that was on the small table in front of her. The picture was one of Naruto, standing alone and smiling. It was one that was taken sometime before he first left with Jiraiya for the two and a half year training period. His smile was so bright that it made her smile as well.

She dedicated herself to keep Naruto's apartment clean while he was gone, of course making sure her father approved of this. There were times when Sakura, Ino, and Tenten offered to help. Even on rare occasions, having the boys help too, of course, bribes were made by the other girls to have their full cooperation. But Hinata always liked it better when she was the only one there.

"Hinata." Sakura's voice came from the other side of the door, followed by a knock, "Come quick!"

Hinata quickly got up from the couch and went to the door, opening it, "What is it?"

"Tsunade-sama wants us in her office right now." Sakura answered, "We have a mission."

* * *

"Two members of Akatsuki were spotted in this village not too long ago." Tsunade said as she pointed to a location on a map that was on her desk. Sakura, Sai, Hinata, and Kakashi stood by her desk, looking at the map, "The reason behind this is either Naruto or Sasuke might be there." 

Hope filled Hinata's heart, after three years of not seeing him, she might be able to see him once more. Ever since Naruto left, Hinata was put on Kakashi's squad as a replacement, while Kurenai worked with only Shino and Kiba.

"Your team will be sent to this village to find clues as to why they were there. Report back once you found the information." Tsunade said. "The Akatsuki might still be there, so be prepared should you come across one of them."

"Hai." The students bowed.

Over the course of the three years, each of them went through some changes. Of course Kakashi never really changed from his jounin uniform.

Sakura had her hair grow back out to the long length she originally had, but she had it pulled back into a ponytail, with several strands hanging over the front. Her forehead protector was now placed on her forehead, and not on the top of her head like before. With a little inspiration from her friend, Ino, Sakura now wore her dark pink shirt with a trim at the bottom, which now showed her midriff. On the back of the shirt, a large Kanji symbol was stitched there with read; 'Strength'. She abandoned the leather gloves that she occasionly slipped on for whenever she needed it, now replacing it with fingerless gloves that she wore all the time. On the back of the hands, the Konoha symbol was stitched on them. Her skirt is one of the only things that she hasn't changed, along with her legwarmers.

Sai had finally chosen to change from the clothes that others never liked, mainly because of the shirt that showed his midriff, which they had told him isn't common on men. He now wore a black karate uniform with the sleeves cut just an inch over the elbow, with a large dark blue sash around his waist. His sword was still strapped to his back, for it was something Sai can use with in combat when jutsus fail to assist him. His hair also grew out, allowing him to put on a ponytail, while still maintaining his original hairstyle in the front, just longer. On his left arm, he had a black metal gauntlet on that hid an empty scroll inside it. On the outer side of the gauntlet, there was a tab that was for Sai to pull on to reveal the scroll, giving him an empty sheet for painting on for his signature jutsus. To what Sai had told everyone, by using his chakra, he can erase the paintings on the scroll, making it reusable and never run out. His fingerless gloves were still on him, but they also had the Konoha symbol stitched onto them.

Hinata changed her outfit into Hyuga robes. She now wore a robe that had a small feeling of blue. The robe reached down to around several inches above the knee, and was tied together by a solid white sash. Her pants were white and went down to her shins, and was wrapped under bandages. Her forehead protector was replaced with Naruto's showing that she still had just as strong of hope as she did three years ago. She still wore it, hanging around her neck.

"We'll leave in three hours." Kakashi said, "Go home an prepare."

* * *

Hinata had her bag filled with the nessecary items for the mission. As she left her room, making her way to the front door, someone's voice got her attention. 

"Where are you going?" Hiashi asked.

"Otou-san." Hinata bowed as she turned and saw her father, with Neji.

"You have training with Neji." Hiashi reminded her.

"Gomen, I have a mission." Hinata said.

"A mission? Well, then better hurry." Neji said.

"What is the mission Hinata?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata knew that her father wanted to know if she was participating in a dangerous mission, for he's been having a concern for her ever since Naruto left the village. "I'm going to a village south of Konoha, Hokage-sama says that Naruto-kun might be there." She chose to leave out the fact that Akatsuki members were spotted there, as well as it possibly being Sasuke that could be there.

"Naruto?" Hiashi asked. He saw that Hinata eyes were filled with hope. "Don't give up hope on him Hinata. Now go, do your best."

"Hai, Otou-san." Hinata bowed and proceeded out the front door.

As Hinata left through the doors, Hiashi turned to Neji. "Do you have anyone else you can train with?"

"Hai, I'll go find Tenten." Neji answered.

"Neji." Hiashi called to him before the young jounin was about to leave, "Do you believe Hinata will make a fine heir to the clan?"

"I believe Hinata'sama will do moe than what we can expect." Neji answered him, "In the three years since Naruto had left, Hinata-sama's master many jutsus even I don't know."

"But I worry for her." Hiashi said, "I know of the private training she received, I'm concerned if she is ready to use what she learned in real combat."

* * *

The journey wasn't too far, they only stopped for one night. The main trouble came when they finally arrived to the village. 

"We'll split up." Kakashi said, "Meet back here in an hour."

"Hai." They all said in unison. They all dispersed into clouds of smoke.

* * *

Hinata wandered around the streets of the village, looking for any clues that could lead her to Naruto. The whole time, she had her Byakugan activated. She looked everywhere in the billage, but no luck came, there was no sign of Naruto anywhere. She knew that there could be Sasuke, or Akatsuki, but she wanted to find Naruto more than anything else right now. 

Hinata slumped on the dirt floor, leaning on the stone wall behind her. She sighed heavily as she was now exhausted from the walking.

"You seem lost."

"Huh?" Hinata looked over to her left and saw someone sitting next to her. The voice clearly revealed that it was an adult man. She found it strange that she didn't notice him, seeing as how comfortable he was, he was there for quite a long time. Maybe her exhaustion clouded her sense of surrounding.

This man was mainly covered by a dirty gray robe that was ripped on the bottom. The collar was up high enough to cover his mouth. He wore a large, flattened conical shaped straw hat that covered more of his face. He wore sandels that strapped around his ankles. A stick was on the ground before him, possibly his walking stick. He had a fairly long peice of straw in his mouth that bobbed up and down as he cheed on it.

"I said, you seem lost." The man repeated, "Are my suspisions correct?"

"Well, I'm looking for a friend." Hinata answered, "I was told he'd be here, but I haven't found him." She chose to leave out the part of Sasuke, another Jinchuruuki, or Akastuki possibly being here."

"A friend?" The man asked, "What would someone from Konoha be doing here?" Hinata knew he saw the Konoha clan symbol from the forehead protector that was loosely around her neck.

"He disappeared three years ago." Hinata answered. She remembered back to the night when he left, leaving her with parting words, as well as a bruise to the temple.

"Hinata!"

Hinata looked up and saw Sakura running towards her.

"I found something." Sakura said. She offered a hand and lofted Hinata onto her feet, "We gotta hurry, they might not be there if we're too late."

"Who?" Hinata asked.

"You'll find out if we leave now." Sakura said.

"Well, I hope you find your friend." The man said as he got up from his spot. "If you truly care about this friend of yours, you'll find him in time." With that, he turned and walked away, using the stick as support for walking.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked.

* * *

"Over there." Sakura pointed to an open field that had two figures standing there. Sakura and Hinata were hiding behind trees while they were spying on these other two. 

The figures were dressed in black robes with red cloud designs on them. They both wore straw hats that covered their faces, but it made no difference, for their backs were against the konouchi.

"There's no point in hiding forever." One of them called out.

"Uh oh." Sakura knew they both couldn't hide now. They came from their hiding spots.

The two Akatsuki members turned around. Deidara smiled while Tobi had his expression hidden under his bizarre mask.

"I should have known we'd find you Konoha ninjas here." Deidara said, "But it makes no difference."

"We came here to do a mission and we're going to complete it." Tobi said with determination. Sakura gave the two a look of determination of her own. "Damn, she's scary." Tobi quickly scurried behind Deidara. "You go first senpai."

"Typical." Deidara mumbled. His hands came out from the pouches hat were on each side of his waist. The mouths that were on the palms of his hands were chewing the clay that they had just bitten into, preparing for one of Deidara's bombs. The mouths then spat out the clay figures, which were in the figure of spiders. He threw both spiders at the two ninjas, growing into larger sizes as they came closer and closer to them.

"Hinata, look out!" Sakura jumped to get out of the way of the explosion, but Hinata didn't move. She stood in place when she saw the giant spiders coming at her. She never really liked spiders, but to see a large one, it made her tremble. "HINATA!" All that Sakura last saw was an explosion that consumed te Hyuga.

When the explosion settled and the dust fell, Hinata was still alive, on her knees and shielding her eyes.

"What?" Deidara looked in shock.

"Wow..." Tobi said with an un-surprised tone.

"Hinata?" Sakura looked in shock to see that she was still alive.

Hinata looked around her, realizing that she was still alive and undamaged.

"You really should have run."

Hinata looked ahead of her. Standing in front of her, the same man from before was standing there. He wasn't using his cane for support, he was standing with a straight back. Deidara looked in fury to see that his clay bomb failed.

"How the hell did you save her from my bomb?!" Deidara asked in rage.

"You won't live long enough to know." The man grabbed onto his gray rags and threw it off. He now stood in a Konoha standard jounin uniform. "Unless you wish to resist, this will be a quick battle."

"Captain Yamato!" Sakura looked shocked when she saw that the 'begger' was actually her once temporary leader.

"Tobi, be productive for once. Distract him." Deidara ordered his student. He put his hands in his pouch and began to produce more bombs with the clay.

"How?" Tobi asked.

"The same way as you always do; run."

"But he'll catch me if I do." Tobi complained.

While the two were argueing over a plan, Yamato turned to Hinata. "Go back to Sakura, I'll deal with these two on my own." The man said.

Hinata did as she was told, she got up and ran over to Sakura. "Hinata, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Hinata answered.

* * *

"Ahh! It doesn't matter anymore." Deidara pulled his hands out of the pouches, "Its done." The hands produced many small clay birds. Deidara grinned in evil delight when he threw them at Yamato. "Try and stop these!" 

Yamato stood there, apparently not worried of the coming attack. He threw his hands forward and touched his index fingers and thumbs together respectively. "_Moku Jouheki_(Wood Locking Wall)!" From the ground below, small roots began to sprout out. The roots then began to grow into larger, thick roots and began to mesh together to form a half dome that seperated Yamato from the clay birds.

The birds collided into the wooden wall, exploding on contact. The explosion covered the field, forcing Hinata and Sakura to sheild their eyes from the coming debris. When they were positive that the explosion settled, they opened their eyes. The grass around Yamato was now more destroyed than before, but the wodden dome was still intact, only with several splinters from the bombs.

"Great." Deidara groaned, "And I thought this would be easy."

"Looks like you were proven wrong, yet again, Senpai." Tobi commented.

From what seemed to be a muttered curse, Deidara produced a large clay bird. He hopped on with Tobi landing behind him. "This isn't over Konoha ninjas." He called out to the three.

"You haven't seen the last of us!" Tobi yelled.

"Can it." Deidara said, landing a swift hammer hit on Tobi's head.

When the clay bird was far from sight, Yamato turned to the two girls, "We need to go."

* * *

Deidara's clay bird flew through the clouds as both Deidara and Tobi were heading back to where the other Akatsuki were. 

"Well, that didn't turn out so well." Tobi commented.

A vein popped in Deidara's head, "You know Tobi, what happened back there, that was an embarrassment. And you striked out more than three times." Deidara reminded his student about the many comments Tobi made during the short-lived fight. "And you remember what I do when you reach three strikes?"

"Yeah." Tobi answered with no interest, "So, what are you gonna do?"

* * *

"SENPAI!!!" Tobi yelled with plea from down on the ground, as Deidara continued to fly away on his clay bird. "I SAID I'M SORRY!!" He rubbed the back of his head as he ran after his teacher. 

Deidara rubbed his right knuckles, which were bruising red. "I should have went for the stomach." Deidara said, wincing in pain when he rubbed over a sensitive spot, "That mask hurts."

* * *

The door closed as Sakura and Hinata looked around in the place. It wasn't too great, but it was still well furnished to live in comfortably. Yamato brought the two girls to his home, making sure he avoided himself and the two shinobi from the eyes of others. Once inside, he removed the gray cloak and hat, placing them on a hook that was on the wall. 

"Perhaps I shouldn't have left you two out of my sight." Yamato said.

"Captain Yamato, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, "And where is Naruto?"

Yamato didn't answer, instead asking his own question, "Who else is with you?"

"Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked again. She wasn't going to accept nothing for an answer.

"If you came with Kakashi-senpai, then I must speak with him first." Yamato answered, ignoring the question again. "He must be the first to know about the past three years."

"I'm not going to tell you anything until you tell me about Naruto." Sakura said strongly. "Tell us, for all our sakes. For Hinata's."

Yamato looked over at Hinata. The pleading look in her eyes of wanting to know of Naruto was something he could no longer ignore. After not seeing him for two years, he thought the two deserved to know.

"Look, I'm sorry." Yamato said after sighing, "But I don't know where he is. He disappeared a few days ago."

"What?!" Sakura yelled, "What do you mean 'he disappeared'?!"

"I mean, he's gone. Out of my sight and nowhere to be found." Yamato answered. "Now look, I need to find Kakashi-senpai. At least we can use his help in finding Naruto."

"Ok." Sakura calmed down. "We're meant to meet him and Sai in a few minutes."

"Then let's go." Yamato said.

As the three prepared to leave, Hinata looked back in the small house they were about to leave. She noticed that Naruto's orange and black clothes were left there, folded up and placed in the corner of the room. "Naruto-kun..." After hoping that she may at last see him again, that hope was shattered.

* * *

**I was originally planning to make chapters of what happens during the three year time skip, but it seemed to be a pointless filler. I thouht to myself, Naruto did a time skip and made Naruto Shippuden, why can't I do that with my fanfic?**

**Anyways, please review.**

**Coming up next:**

**More trouble occurs and Hinata reveals what she learned in her special training.**


	11. Bandits

**Well here's the chapter that took some time for me to think over. There were lots of things that I needed to add in just to make this chapter longer.**

* * *

Kakashi and Sai stood at the front gate of the village. They both arrived at the rendevous a few seconds ago, but Hinata and Sakura were still waited on. 

"You think they found something?" Sai asked.

"Perhaps." Kakashi said, "Let's wait and see what they bring back."

"Do you think Naruto might be here?" Sai asked.

"I have my hopes, but let's not forget, Tsunade-sama wasn't sure of the reason for Akatsuki's presence here." Kakashi answered.

Just before them both, three puffs on smoke emited and faded to reveal Sakura, Hinata, and Yamato.

"Yamato." Kakashi looked in surprise, "You're here?"

"Hi Kakashi-senpai." Yamato smiled, "I found these two just outside the village. Had to scare off some Akatsuki to keep them safe."

"Well, we found nothing." Sai said, "These people seem too scared to talk about Akatsuki." He eyed around at the villagers that passed by.

"Well, now that we're together again." Kakashi walked up to Yamato, "Perhaps you can tell us where Naruto is."

* * *

"Its been three years and we have gotten further from our plan." Kisame complained, "We lost Hidan and Kakuzu to mere children." 

What remained of Akatsuki gathered in their hideout, standing on their respective places on the large stone fingers. From what started off as ten, was now reduced to six. Of all of them that were there, only Kisame and Itachi were truly there. The rest were there in projection form.

"Hidan is still alive." Zetsu said, He is merely buried under the earth."

"But without a head to go with the body, he won't be getting out of there." Itachi said, calmly.

"You're telling me." Deidara said, "Tobi disappeared from my sight."

"What are you talking about senpai? I'm right here." Tobi answered.

"I mean reality-wise." Deidara scolded, "Reality-wise, you're not with me!"

"I guess this means you can't hurt me now can you?" Tobi said with a somewhat goofy tone of voice.

"Just wait till I find you." Deidara growled under his breath.

"Enough. Without the location of the Jinchuruuki for the Kyuubi, we'll never get further." Pein said, "All we can do now is wait for anything new of the whereabouts of the final two Jinchuruuki."

"Pein-sama, _he_ has arrived." Konan said, "And _he_ wishes to speak to you privately."

"Very well." Pein replied, "I take my leave."

With that, Konan and Pein both disappeared from their projection, leaving Deidara, Kisame, Itachi, and Zetsu.

"Our leader answering to a leader?" Kisame asked with amusement, "Never come across that everyday."

"Hey, where did Tobi go?" Deidara asked.

"Probably went off to find you." Kisame theorized, "You know the poor boy is lonely without you."

"Yeah, I'll welcome him back with a clay bomb." Deidara muttered.

* * *

"About two months after we both left Konoha, we ran into some trouble." Yamato answered, "Orochimaru and Kabuto found us and attacked. I dealt with Orochimaru, while Kabuto lured Naruto away from us. I managed to get the upperhand, but after Orochimaru ran off, I lost sight of Naruto." 

"But you told us he disappeared a few days ago." Sakura said, remembering what Yamato had told her and Hinata several minutes ago."

"I wasn't finished. I did all I could to search for him and a year later, I finally found him." Through the words Yamato was saying, Sakura was somehow able to sense that something was still hidden, "We spent the next two years picking off where we left off in training."

"What happened after?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, six months ago, we came to this village, the Wood village. Naruto was sure that he was ready and that we can go back home." Yamato continued on with his story, "But after one training night, he disappeared while we slept. I haven't seen him ever since he left."

Hinata's face dropped down in disappointment. After hearing what happened from Yamato again, she began to feel more upset about having to wait longer for Naruto.

_Where did you go, Naruto-kun? Why do you make me wait?_

"Maybe we can find him." Sakura said, "Four shinobi searching for one shouldn't be too hard."

"Well, the more the merrier." Yamato said, "But how do we start?"

* * *

A group of four walked through an open grassland, heading to an unknown destination. 

The one who was at the back of the whole group was a fairly large male, who had a small blue bird perched on his left shoulder. This large seemingly harmless looking boy didn't mind the company of the bird. In front of him, a smaller, more fit boy was walking along. His long hair covered his forehead, but his eyes, nose and mouth were clearly visible. On his back, a large, gigantic blade was strapped to him, which, amazingly, didn't strain on him at all. Up front, there were the final two. One was a boy and the other was a girl, who seemed to try and move closer to the boy, though he always had his ways to get her to back off.

"My feet are killing me." The boy with the large blade complained, "Can we take a break?"

"You asked for one half and hour ago." The girl yelled at him, "What is wrong with you?"

"Well unlike you Karin, I get exhausted from carrying this thing." He dropped on his bottom, taking the zanbato off his back.

"We'll take a short break." The leading boy said, "Jugo, what's new?"

The bird on the big boy's shoulder flew off, "Apparently, What Suigetsu heard is true, Orochimaru is still alive."

"That's not good." Suigetsu said, "Not good at all."

"What are we gonna do?" Karin asked the boy in white. When she got no response, "Sasuke?"

He turned around to face the three of them, "That just adds more to our schedule." _And this time, I'll make sure you die for good._ "Let's keep moving."

"But I still need my break." Suigetsu groaned.

"We'll take a full break at night." Sasuke said.

"But nighttime isn't until a few more hours." Suigetsu said.

"Four hours to be exact." Karin said.

* * *

The group was now following behind three of Kakashi's ninken, taking them outside the village and through a forest. 

"Clearly, the trails leads to somewhere away from Konoha." Kakashi said, "Perhaps something prevented him from wanting to go back home."

"The scent is partially strong." Pakkun said, "By the amount of residue left of his scent, I'd say he was walking when he left."

"Walking?" Sakura asked, "If something prevented him from coming home, he would have probably ran to wherever he needed to go."

"This doesn't make any sense." Sai said, "Naruto leaves for unknown reasons, but we know for a fact that it wasn't anything bad."

"Let's keep following the trail" Kakashi said, "When we find Naruto, we can ask him any questions we have."

"But I still don't understand why he would leave?" Hinata said. She began to ponder on anything possible that could have made Naruto stay away form Konoha more. So far, all she could think of involved the Kyuubi, but Naruto had said to Yamato that he was ready to go home.

"Wait..." Pakkun stopped, followed by the other two ninken stopping to see what got the small pitbull's attention.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"There's tracks here." Pakkun examined the dirt. "These are from some four-wheeled transport."

"A carriage perhaps?" Sai suggested.

"These tracks seemed faint, yet not too faint." Pakkun said, "I think they were left here around the same time as Naruto."

"Perhaps he was in the carriage." Hinata said, "That might explain his scent residue."

"Perhaps." Kakashi said, "But we don't even know if these tracks lead to where Naruto is going."

"Wait, I see something." Sai looked up ahead. He ran over to what got his attention, a small folded piece of parchment. He unfolded the paper, which revealed to be a note.

The others caught up to him. "What does it say?" Sakura asked.

_Someone please help us._

_We've been captured by masked bandits. They have their attention away from me, so I only have a small time to write this. Please save us._

The letter was written in a messy form, no doubt from someone with shaking hands. The parchment was ripped, possibly from desperation, the writer ripped it from something else.

"Maybe we should follow the trail." Hinata suggested, "It could be Naruto."

"But how would Naruto be captured by simple bandits?" Sakura asked, "He's better than that,. After all, he's spent three years training."

"Even if it isn't him, this is an innocent person." Hinata said, "We can't just let an innocent life be destroyed. Not after knowing about it."

"I have to agree with Hinata." Kakashi said, "It may be possible that Naruto is the one who wrote this, but there also the chance that he may have been following them from the start. It may explain why he mysteriously disappeared."

"Then maybe we should follow the trail." Sai said.

"That's the only logical choice." Yamato said.

With that, the group proceeded to follow the tracks that were left by these bandits.

"But wait."

Sakura was at the back, not moving from where she stood, "What is we're wrong? What if this simply pulls us away from finding Naruto?"

"What other choices do we have?" Yamato asked, "Its either this, which may possibly lead us to Naruto, or continue to follow the scent."

"Well if it helps, Naruto's scent seems to follow the tracks." Pakkun said, "I have a feeling that he may have followed them."

"Listen, Sakura." Kakashi walked up to Sakura, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "When we find these bandits and save the hostage, we can pick up from where we left off afterward. When this is done, I promise that we will stop at nothing in finding Naruto."

Hinata thought over the long years of being apart from Naruto. She looked up the sky, watching as the birds above flew along.

_Naruto-kun..._

She waited patiently for three years for his return, waiting for him to come back home, waiting to be able to touch him again. She waited patiently for him to tell him how much she missed him and how her love for him grew so much.

* * *

The trail led them deeper into the forest, far from the village and closer to the unknown. At the current moment, the sun was barely visible behind the far mountains. As the continued on following the trail, they came across an open area in the forest. What stood out the most were the several campfires that were in the area. The group hid themselves from any eyes by hiding behind trees that were far from the encampment. 

"That must be them." Sakura said.

"Masked bandits." Yamato noted on every single one of them.

Each of the people that were there wore masks that all looked the same. Their masks were black with faces carved on it with two horns on the top. Their attire was also very similar; black shirts that were loose fit, the chest was slightly exposed from the opening, but not too much. The pants were dark brown in color, reaching down, halfway down the shins, with bandage wrappings around the ankles, and slightly over the sandals. A fairly large orange sash wrapped around the waist of them all with several different black belts wrapped over the sash to keep it in place. Along with the mask to hid their faces, they also wore black balaclavas to hide their entire head behind the masks. Behind them, they each had a black katana tucked under the belts.

"Does anyone see the prisoners?" Sai asked.

Kakashi immedietly pulled his forehead protector up, showing his sharingan. He scaned the area with the Uchiha eye, "Their in the tent that closest to the center." Kakashi pointed to the one he was refering to, "The one with no flag on top.

Ever single tent in the area was black with a red flag on the top that had a Kanji character for 'Oni' on it.

"Do you see Naruto there?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know." Kakashi said, "Its too far for me to know, I can only see that the tent has the prisoners."

"Let's make this quick." Sai said.

"Try and spare their lives." Yamato ordered, "We'll take them back to the village and let their fate be taken care of from there."

"Oi!"

From behind them, two of these masked bandits found them. The both had their katanas unsheathed, ready for an attack.

"More prisoners." one of them said.

"Too late, attack." Kakashi ordered.

"Well, we're no longer needed." With that, Pakkun dispersed, along with the other two ninken.

The group fled from the current two and jumped down to the area where the rest were. The others were alerted of their presence and attacked the intruders. The groups split up, each taking on their own portion of bandits.

Kakashi fended himself off against five bandits that all charged at him with their katanas. As they all came at him at once, he delivered a spin kick that sent them all back and on the ground. Each of them impacted on the dirt surface with a large cloud of dust. As Kakashi prepared himself for a hand seal, he stopped. _They might not be shinobi._ He brought his hands up into tight fists, _Better play it safe._

Sakura defended herself from the swiping motions of the katanas that came at her. She prevented herself from using her chakra infused attacks to prevent possible deadly blows. She knew a shinobi would be able to handle the devastating blows of her punches, but she didn't know these were shinobi or not, and she didn't want to risk it. She reduced herself to attacking with harmless blows, but painful enough to knock them out cold if required. As she swung a fist and punched one in the face, a katana swiped over her head. In reaction, she spun around and delivered a hook kick at the bandit's neck. _He completely missed._ Sakura noted on how she could have been decapitated, but the bandit sliced just over her head, _These guys definitely aren't shinobi._

Sai had his short sword in hand, blocking attacks from the bandits and attacking back. One charged at him. _Hmm, he's giving me a clear opening. He must have very little fighting experience._ He jumped up and flipped back, landing a successful kick to the bandit's face before making a complete turn. He managed to land on top of one of the bandits, taking out another.

"_Moku Bunshin no Jutsu_(Wood clone technique)!" From the ground, roots sprouted out, taking form of Yamato. Now the bandits had to deal with two Yamatos. One by one, they attacked, but each and every one of them were easily taken down. Eventually, the bandits gathered together and as one, charged at the two. While the real Yamato jumped out of the way, the wood clone was pinned. Yamato landed on the ground just behind Kakashi.

"You noticed it yet?" the masked jounin asked.

"Yes, I did." Yamato answered. Both of them examined each of the bandits that surrounded them.

"They all fight with poor performance." Kakashi noted.

"They must be nowhere near the shinobi level." Yamato said, "They sure are one pathetic bunch."

While the others were dealing with the bandits, Hinata made her way to the tent where all the prisoners were. When she entered the tent, she saw that there were just over thirty people in the tent, all trapped in cages. When they all saw Hinata come in, they immedietly brought their hands out through the bars, pleading.

"Have you come to save us?"

"Please, get us out of here."

"I miss my mommy."

"Who are you?"

Hinata looked at them all in pity, "Hai, I'm here to save you. Are you all from the Wood village?" The voices that they all made seemed to say 'yes'. She then remembered the main reason why she was here and not back in Konoha. "Naruto-kun." No reply, "Naruto-kun, are you here?" She got no response. It was then she knew that Naruto was definitely not here and that this was all a delay to finding him. "I'll have you out in a moment." She looked at the locks that kept them all in the cages.

"You need the key." One of them said, "The leader of these bandits has it. He keeps it with him at all times."

"Where is he?" Hinata asked.

"Look out!"

Hinata quickly turned to the direction of where they were pointing. Before she could react, this unknown attacker hit Hinata at the back of the neck before she could completely turn around. She felt herself lose consciousness.

* * *

Back outside, the others fought off the many bandits that came at them. 

"There's just no end to these idiots." Sakura said.

"Keep holding them off." Kakashi said, "They'll eventually give in."

"STOP!"

All the bandits, even the Konoha shinobi stopped in their tracks, looking in the direction of the voice. The figure that stood there was clad in samurai armor. The color of the armor was blood red, with black strings that kept it all together.

"Surrender yourselves now!" He held Hinata in front of her with his katana by her throat. "Give up or I will kill her!"

"Do as he says." Kakashi ordered, "Stand down."

"But Kakashi-senpai..." Yamato was about to disagree.

"That's an order." Kakashi replied, "One life isn't worth it."

Gritting through his teeth Yamato gave in. The bandits approuched each of them and bound their hands with ropes. Before Kakashi was bound, he took the liberty of covering his Sharingan eye with his forehead protector first.

"Excellent." The leader smiled through his samurai mask. "Bring them into by tent. They shall be my guests of honor, for the ceremony will be starting soon."

The bandits pushed the shinobi along, all going to where their leader was. Each of them knew that they could break loose of their bondage, but with Hinata in the hands of the leader, they might risk having her killed, they would have to either wait for the right moment or end up surrendering completely.

* * *

**Sorry about the little cliffhanger, but I didn't want to quite bring Naruto back yet. I want this part of the story to be about Hinata right now. I'll have Naruto appearing eventually.**


	12. Onimusha

**I immedietly had the layout of this chapter ready. This was pretty quick to finish, compared to the other chapters.**

* * *

The group of bandits all gathered around their leader in his tent. While the others were bound and surounded by the minions, Hinata was in the grasps of the armored superior. 

"You made a grave mistake of intruding in my territory." He said, "But it seems the mightly Oni lord may have brought you all here for this special night."

"What do you plan to do with us?" Kakashi asked.

"Hm, well it seems you do not know about us." The leader said, "Well, to begin, my name is Naikito, leader of the Onimusha tribe." He removed mask and helmet to reveal his face. He appeared to be no older than 50, but the battle damage on his face made it difficult to determine. He had a scar going across his face, from the right side of his forehead to his left cheek, a large scar was there. He also had what appeared to be a severe burn on his right cheek and a recent cut on his right eyebrow. "We are a very devoted tribe. We keep to the laws that was created through the mightly Oni lord."

"Oni lord?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, the very entity that seperates us from the lesser race of humans." Naikito explained, "You see, The Oni lord is like a god to us, we worship him and follow his will. When he tells us to raid a village, we obey, for his will is above all else. If he tells me to kill one of my own loyal servants, I do it without question. As long as his will is obeyed, we remain strong." He began to feel Hinata move on her own. "This little girl is about to wake up, bind her before she does." Three of his bandit subordinates came and took her body.

"You still didn't answer my question." Kakashi said, "What are you planning to do with us?"

"Ah correct. Well, along with us obeying his will, we follow a tradition that has been passed down ever since my grandfather first created this tribe." Naikito answered, "Once a year, at the start of midnight, we prepare for a ceremony to honor the strength the Oni lord has given us all these years. Every year, we go to one village and take as many souls, and prepare them as an offering." He then walked up to where his apparent 'throne' was. On the throne, a small dagger was resting on the seat. He took the dagger and unsheathed it, "With this very blade, the blood of the offering is poured and given to our lord, so that he may no longer hunger."

"You're sick." Sai said with disgust, "Sacrificing innocent lives for something that's not even real?"

"Silence!" Naikito yelled, "How dare you insult the Oni lord?!"

"You know you cannot keep shinobi behind bars." Kakashi said.

"Shinobi?" Naikito asked in amusement, "My boy, I've been granted the strength of the Oni lord himself. Shinobi or not, you cannot harm me." He was about to turn away from Kakashi when something about him made him look in surprise, "You...you're hair...it looks familiar..." After looking carefully at Kakashi, he suddenly knew, "You're the son of Konoha's White Fang." He then chuckled slightly, which then grew into a laugh, "What a great night this is indeed. Perhaps you would like to see how I knew who your father was." He nodded to bandit who was standing in front of a large curtain. The bandit pulled the curtain down, revelaing what was behind it. To the disgust of the others, behind the curtain, there were shelves of jars, each containing what appeared to be the heads of victims. "These are the heads of many that I found would be worth keeping. Though I didn't kill some of them, their reputation was something I couldn't ignore."

Kakashi looked at one of the jars and was instantly shocked, "No..." Standing at the end of the top shelf, the head of something familiar was there, contained in the jar and sealed. The silver hair was instantly recognizable, "Otou-san..."

"Yes. I found his grave a couple of years ago. Knowing about his reputation, I knew I had to have him. So I unburied his remains and took the head. Of course I took the liberty of burying him back up." Naikito said with pride.

Kakashi immedietly lost his strength and fell on his knees. Naikito looked at him in amusement, "Such a pity isn't it? Take them away."

The bandits dragged the group of captured ninjas, taking them out of the tent. While the others walked along with them, Kakashi was dragged out.

* * *

"This is bad." Sakura said, "These knots are tight, I can't even flow enough chakra to break free." 

"Neither can I." Yamato said, "What do we do, Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi didn't answer.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you alright?" Sakura asked.

"He was once a legend of Konoha." Kakashi simply said, "Even as great as Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya. That was until he failed a mission that cost Konoha the war at one point. He disgraced me, yes, but to have someone like Naikito take his head as a trophy is unacceptable." Kakashi's visible eyes showed contained rage. "I may have lost my respect for him as a shinobi when he commited seppuku, but I loved him as a father."

"Kakashi-sensei..."

"Kakashi-senpai, we have only fifteen minutes before its midnight, we must think of something." Yamato said, "We must stop this ceremony from happening."

"Are you mad?" One of the other prisoners asked, "You can't top the Onimusha tribe from having their ceremony. I've seen firsthand of his powers, you can't beat him."

"We are going to stop this." Kakashi said, turning to the prisoner that spoke, "And you can go back home. You have my word."

A group of bandits came into the tent, "Naikito-sama wants those five." One of them pointed at the shinobi. "Bring them out." The others went to the cage to unlock it. They each grabbed one shinobi and dragged them out of the cage and out of the tent. When they were outside, they saw that there was a large fire prepared for the ceremony. In front of them, there was a large alter with what looked like a basin.

"Keep moving." The bandit said, who was holding Sakura. "The master doesn't have all day."

The bandits brought them to a small area just outside of the fire. The bandits left the five there and returned to Naikito's tent. While they were gone, Sakura tried to break free again.

"Sakura, its hopeless." Sai said, "These bonds are too tight for use."

"I won't give up." Sakura said, struggling with her hand bonds. Suddenly, Sakura found her wrists free from the rope. Without wasting time, she went over to the others and cut their bonds. "Let's go." Just as they got up and prepared to initiate their plan, bandits appeared and surrounded them.

"Hinata, perhaps you should show everyone what you learned in the past three years." Kakashi said, though Hinata showed signs of hesitation, "Hinata, you can do this. I know Naruto would believe in you."

_Naruto-kun..._ Hinata then remembered how all of her time training was to show him that she became stronger. Hoping that she could be noticed by him. She knew that if he was here, he would be proud of her. "Please keep a safe distance."

"Of course." Kakashi answered, "Everyone, stay behind her."

Hinata stood in the surroundings of many bandits. Her face was looking down to the ground, for she was deep in thought.

_Naruto-kun, if you were here, you would say how amazing and strong I've become._ Hinata slowly brought her hands together for a seal, _I'm going to show everyone here that I _am _strong._ With her seals made, she performed her newfound jutsu, "_Suiton: Hahonryuu_(Water Release: Rapid Crasher)!" From the palms of her hand, a swirling amount of water formed and suddenly shot out forward in a strong jet. The Bandits that were standing before her were caught in the blast and forced back from the jet. They were pushed so far that the others lost sight of them for they were far in the forest. Hinata grinned at her success, for the first time, she had unleashed her use of elemental chakra.

"Kakashi-senpai, did she...?" Yamato was shocked. He knew that technique well, for it was one he used himself.

"Her training has finally paid off." Kakashi smiled through the mask he wore.

"You mean you..." Yamato was surprised, "You trained her?"

...Flashback...

"What did you require my audience for," Kakashi asked formally, "Hiashi-sama?"

Hiashi sat in his office, sitting behind a desk, "It regards my daughter, the future heir of the Hyuga clan."

Kakashi was partially surprised. He's never had any business regarding Hinata, let alone a Hyuga for that matter.

"In the wake of Uzumaki Naruto's departure, Hinata has asked me to find ways of training her." Hiashi explained, "Three months since he left, three months. My daughter wishes to be stronger for him. Though I still do not fully see what my daughter sees in that boy, I promised to help her find methods of training."

"I suppose that involves me?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. I made requests to the Hokage to find someone who can train my daughter and you were the one she recommended." Hiashi answered, "She told me of how you trained Uzumaki Naruto in using elemental chakra. I wish for you to teach my daughter the same way."

Kakashi was now surprised completely. Hiashi wanted him to train Hinata, but not simply train, but train in using elemental chakra. "Hiashi-sama, Naruto has a near-limitless amount of chakra and we both know very well as to why that is." Knowing that Hiashi Hyuga was fully aware that Naruto was the reincarnation of the Kyuubi. "That provided him with many talents that even I cannot do. He is one of the rare shinobi who can perform the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and produce thousands of shadow clones. The shadow clones were the main purpose of his training."

"I believe in my daughter." Hiashi simply answered, "Neither she nor I care of how long the training will take, I just wish for you to train her."

Kakashi sighed quietly, not wanting to make any possible insults to the heir of the Hyugas, "Very well."

...End...

"I never thought she would finish her training so quickly." Kakashi said to Yamato, "Three years since she started training with me, and managed to finish in two. She has great talents."

...Flashback...

"Now, your father has requested that I train you in elemental jutsu." Kakashi stood alone with Hinata in an open field, not too far from the Hyuga mansion, "What you must know is that this training will require much dedication and time. There will be no easy way through this, so you must commit a hundred percent in this. Understood?"

"Hai." Hinata answered.

"Naruto was able to finish his training in a matter of days, but that was through the use of shadow clones. Your chakra is nowhere near as large as his, so I'm going to hae to trian you the same way I was trained." Kakashi said, "And during the time you train with me, you shall be put in my squad as Naruto's temporary replacement."

"I understand...Kakashi-sensei." Hinata answered.

"Perfect." Kakashi grinned, "Now, before we even start in elemental training, you must know the origins of jutsus." He raised his right hand, open palmed." There are five different types of chakra used for jutsus, every single one stems from these five. I would go to explain its history, but training is more important. The five are; fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth."

"Just like the names of the five great countries." Hinata noted.

"Not bad, you know your history." Kakashi smiled in amusement, "Now, before we being our training, I must know what to train you in, otherwise the training may be a waste of time." Kakashi saw that Hinata was partially confused, causing him to sigh, "Long story short, I need to know what element suits you." He reached into his pouch and pulled out two blank square papers. "These cards are able to react to the chakra of whoever holds it. It will tell us what element your chosen for."

"How?" Hinata asked.

"The cards will react with the chakra you channel into it, like so." Kakashi held on card in his right hand and the other in his left, "Look at the card on my right." After a quick second, the card suddenly crumpled, causing Hinata to react surprised, "Since my natural chakra is lightning based, the paper crumples."

"What about the other four elements?" Hinata asked.

"For fire, it would burn. Wind, it splits in half. If water, then it gets wet. If its earth, then it turns to dust." Kakashi explained, "Now, take this one and channel your chakra into it." He handed the last card to her.

Hinata took the card and prepared herself.

"There's no need to focus too much." Kakashi said, "It reacts to the slightest amount."

Hinata nodded in understanding and looked at the card as she prepared to channel her chakra into it. When she did, she felt the card get moist. From a stiff material, it suddenly flopped over in her grasp.

"Well, looks like its the water element." Kakashi said, "Now we can begin."

...End...

"She possess a rare talent in the water-based jutsus. Her Byakugan allows her to see the water vapours around her, giving her a near-limitless supply of water for her attacks." Kakashi explained, "A talent that may even impress the Second Hokage."

"Kakashi-senpai, you still amaze me." Yamato said, "Has she ever used her newfound power in combat?"

"This is her first time." Kakashi answered, "And I have to say, she is doing very well."

"You will not stop this!" A voice boomed. All the bandits slowly backed away as Naikito approuched, "I will not have you interupt this ceremony and anger the Oni Lord."

"We will do what we must." Kakashi said, "I suggest you give up."

"I think not." Naikito smirked, "Attack!"

All the bandits surrounding the five ran forward. The five shinobi split and attacked their select few. As the other dealt with the bandits, Naikito approuched Hinata. "You are one talented little girl." He pulled out six knives, all held between his fingers. He then threw them all at Hinata, intending to kill her on the spot.

Hinata quickly made her hand seals and preformed another jutsu, "_Suiton: Shuu Bunshin_(Water Release: Vanishing Clone)!" When the knives hit her, she suddenly burst into water.

"What?" Naikito looked in shock as Hinata had disappeared. From behind him, she slowly appeared, ready to strike, but Naikito was quick to anticipate it. He turned around and prepared a punch.

"_Suiton: Mizukabe Shugo_(Water Release: Water Wall Protection)!" A sudden burst of water formed between Naikito and Hinata.

"You have no hope in stopping me." Naikito said, as he grabbed Hinata by her hair, breaking through the water shield. "You think mere water is going to stop me?"

"Let her go!" Sakura yelled. She roundhouse kicked the bandit that was in her way. The bandit landed on the ground, causing all the dirt to form into a large cloud around his body. With her attention away from the bandit, she ran towards Naikito.

As Naikito brought his attention to Hinata, the revealing of her face brought a look of surprise to Naikito. "Wait, those eyes." Naikito examined Hinata's pale eyes, "You're a Hyuga." He smiled with delight, "What a great night this has become. The blood of a Hyuga shall be perfect for the Oni lord's hunger." He took his dagger and brought it to Hinata's throat, "When I'm done with this night, your head will make a fine addition to my trophy collection."

"Let her go!" Sakura ran at Naikito, preparing a chakra punch. "I can't let you kill her!" But as she got close, Naikito simply backhanded her and she fell to the ground.

"Pathetic." He simply said, "No one shall interupt the ceremony." A small essence of glowing red energy emited from his hand, which faded several seconds later.

"It is midnight." One of the bandits said.

"Very good." Naikito smilled. He looked down at Hinata, with his dagger still close to her throat, "She shall be the first to be offered."

While Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai could only look as Hinata was about to be killed, the nearby bandit unsheathed his katana with his right hand and aimed it at Naikito's head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you kill her either." The bandit said.

"What is the meaning of this?" Naikito asked, "You dare interupt the ceremony of your Oni lord."

"You see that's the thing." Naikito found it strange that this bandit's form of speech was suddenly different, as well as his voice, "I don't worship any Oni lord."

"Then what..." Naikito was now even more confused.

"You know, losing your focus makes you lose more." The bandit said, "Look at the Hyuga girl."

Naikito looked down and found the Hinata was no longer in his grasp. He looked ahead and saw that one of the other bandits took her to Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai. He then looked to where Sakura was and one of the bandits was kneeling by her side. "How dare you betray me. Lower your weapon, you serve me!"

"I serve no one." With his left hand, he reached for his head and pulled his balaclava off. "Most definitely, not you."

"It can't be..." Sai looked in amazement.

Kakashi and Yamato were speechless with what they had witnessed.

Standing before them all, was none other than Naruto. His blonde hair waved along with the small night breeze that came through the trees, as it had no grown longer. His eyes were covered with a brown cloth blindfold, but the whiskers on his face weren't hard to recognize.

"Na...ruto...kun?" Hinata looked at Naruto in shock, "Is that...you?"

"Did you miss me?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Suddenly, all the other bandits began to disperse into smoke, one by one. By now, they all realized that the army of bandits were nothing more than Naruto and his shadow clones. Now the entire area was only him, Naikito, and the other five shinobi.

"Now I'll finish what I started." Naruto said, "And this time, I won't be waiting."

* * *

**If you guys haven't noticed by now, Naruto's new attire is similar to Sasuke's, albeit color differences. Naruto wears a black shirt instead of white, dark brown pants instead of dark blue, an orange sash instead of blue, and black belts instead of a thick purple rope. I had Naruto change what he wore, not because he's mocking Sasuke's style, but for the evidence that he still remembers his promise to bring him back home. The change of outfit shows that even though its been six years since Sasuke left Konoha, Naruto still remembers and that the two aren't that different. For his hair, I thought that maybe he should've grown in out since he's been gone for three years. Simply put, his hair looks like the Fourth Hokage's, just less spiky.**

**The blindfold thing will be explained in time. Make your assumptions, but please do not tell me what you think. If you desperately need to say it, then tell me through pm, not through review.**

**About this Onimusha tribe leader, Naikito; he'll be part of the villian's role in this story. I'm not going to reveal what that role is, but i'll say this; he'll eventually team up with Orochimaru. I'll eventually explain how he was able to break through Hinata's water jutsu sheild.**

**I bet you guys never saw that coming, Hinata knowing water jutsus. Now you know what that 'special training' was. It'll play a key role in the future chapters.**


	13. Returning Home

**I had quite a few PMs from people wondering about how Naruto was able to hide himself as the Onimusha tribe. I'll have that question answered in this chapter, but you all probably know how he did it. He beat them all up and took on their identity with the shadow clones, but this chapter will tell as to how he did that.**

**

* * *

**Naruto stood to the side of Naikito, holding his katana to the Onimusha leader's head.

"You have any idea how long I've been waiting to start up my plan?" Naruto asked, "If only I'd known about this later, I would've had to wait alot less."

Without warning, Naikito drew out his katana and swiped at Naruto, but to his dismay, this was also a shadow clone. When the blade came in contact with him, he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Too bad." Naruto said from behind. He prepared for a swipe, but Naikito quickly spun around and blocked the attack.

The two engaged in a duel as the others watched on, with Hinata running over to Sakura to see if she was alright. Naikito swiped low, but Naruto jumped in time to dodge the slice. As Naruto came to land, he prepared his katana for a vertical slice, but Naikito quickly sidestepped to dodge it. As Naruto came for the landing, Naikito landed a kick to his chin, sending him soaring up to the sky, then plummeting down like a meteor. The impact caused a large debris to form, covering the field in a cloud of dust and knocking over all the tents that were in the vincity of the debris. When the dust settled, the location of Naruto's fall left a large crater, with a hole in the center.

"Haha, exactly what I expected from a boy." Naikito chuckled, "Nothing."

As Naikito went on to laugh, the Naruto emerged from the hole, jumping out and landing just outside of the crater. He still held his katana in his hand, but now sheathed it for a better approuch. Naruto brought his hands together and brought out his trademark technique.

"_Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Standing before Naikito, and around him, were thousands of exact duplicates of Naruto.

"You really think numbers will do you any good?" Naikito asked. "It seems you underestimate me. I know all about the shadow clone technique, I know about elemental jutsus. In fact, I know about jutsus overall."

"What?" Kakashi looked in surprise, "How does he know about the ninja ways?"

"I'm no ordinary human." Naikito's lips curled upward into a sadistic grin, "I'm a shinobi myself." He removed his helmet and and tilted his head over to the side to show something that was one his neck. There was a tattoo on the left side that showed that sign of a village; the image of what looked like two stones, one larger than the other. "I am from the Stone Village. My grandfather created this tribe, but my father never wanted to have any part of it. When I was 18, I chose to run off with my grandfather and succeed him as the tribe's next ruler, but with my father in my way, I had to dispose of the hindrance."

"He...killed his own...father?" Hinata asked in shock. Sakura was starting to come through, she groaned from the hit on her head, but managed to get herself in a sitting position. "Sakura, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Sakura answered, "What happened?" She didn't need an answer, for the answer was in her view, "Naruto?"

"This tattoo was branded on me when I was 5, in hopes that I would remain loyal to the village." Naikito went on with his story, "You see, my grandfather, he was banished from the village for simply not following the village's tradition. While the shinobi are to train in the earth based jutsus, my grandfather secretly learned the ways of fire tenchinques." Naikito then brought his hands together and performed a variety of seals, "Now I shall show you what I have learned from him. _Katon: Shinawa_(Fire Release: Death Rope)!" He closed his right hand to appear as if he held something. As his fist was closed, a long trail of fire emited from his hand, extending out into a flimsy rope-like material. Naikito swung the rope forward, decimating many of the clones around him.

As the clones charged in, Naikito eliminated them with his fire whip. In time, the fire whip eventually faded, but that wasn't the end. Naikito made more hand seals and brought his hands together. "_Katon: Katori no Jutsu_(Fire Release: Fire Bird technique)!" He opened his hands a flock of flaming birds left his grip and flew around the field. As the birds flew past the trees, the branches caught onto the flames.

"Hinata!" Kakashi called out, "Stop the fire!"

"Hai." Hinata nodded. She got up and made her hand seals, and positioning her hands near her chest. "_Suiton: Odama Bakufu no Jutsu_(Water Release: Great ball Waterfall technique)!" From her hands she formed a small sphere of water, that slowly expanded. She then brought it out and the ball increased in size. With the ball, Hinata waved her hands around in many directions. As she motioned her arms, small arms of water extended from the ball and moved to the direction of her arms, extinguishing the fires. As the water shot out of the ball, it shrank. In time, the fire was put out and there was no ball of water left.

"No!" Naikito shouted in fustration. "How dare you interfere." He prepared to charge at Hinata with his katana out, but something stopped his feet from moving. He looked down and saw hands sprouting from the ground and grabbing his ankles.

"You may not have noticed, but when I landed on the ground and created the crater, I brought out two shadow clones." Naruto explained, "While I came out of the hole, the two clones dug their way under until they could find a perfect spot to grab you." He then brought his hands together, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" One shadow clone appeared, standing next to Naruto's right side.

Naikito tried struggling in hopes of breaking free, but the grip on his ankles were too much. With his legs immobilized, Naruto prepared himself for the final attack. With his right hand, he formed a swirling orb of chakra that spiraled in a perfectly shaped ball on the palm of his hand.

"He made a Rasengan quite quickly." Kakashi noted, "But what does he need the shadow clone for?"

The shadow clone standing next to Naruto brought one of his hands up to the orb. Channeling some more chakra, the orb began to be surrounded by a brighter blue shield of energy. The surrounding aura appeared to look like small razor blades, which spun along with the Rasengan.

"It can't be..." Kakashi looked surprised by the new technique, "Did he..?"

Naruto ran towards Naikito, holding the orb in his hand. As he came in range, he thrusted the chakra ball at Naikito's chest. "_Fuuton: Rasengan_(Wind Release: Spiraling Sphere)!" The impact of the blast launched Naikito into the forest, away from sight, but leaving a clear dirt trail as he skidded across the ground. Naruto smiled at his victory, butturned his attention to the others. "Are you guys alright?" Naruto asked. He didn't get much of an answer from any of them. They all simply stared at him, which started to make the blonde shinobi slightly uncomfortable. "Um...guys?"

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata was still unable to tell if this really was him.

Naruto could see in her eyes that she was in disbelief, "Hi Hinata." He smiled, "It's me."

For a few seconds everything seemed to stop, at long last, Hinata finally was able to see Naruto again. "Naruto-kun!" She jumped into his arms, falling into his embrace.

"I missed you." Naruto said.

"Well, let's save the warm moment for later." Kakashi said, interupting. "There's some questions I have to ask."

"Well, I can see you haven't changed much Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, turning to his former teacher. "Well, I'm free for any questions."

"What's with the blindfold?" Kakashi immedietly asked.

Naruto suddenly became slightly shaken. His hands began to twitch ever so slightly, but the feeling was of his hands shaking on Hinata's body made her shiver as well.

"Um...I can't really give you an answer for that." Naruto answered, "Next question."

"Ok. Well, why were you here?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto thought it was best to let Hinata go now. "Well, it seems like an easy answer." Naruto replied, "I followed these guys when I saw them come into the Wood Village." And thus began Naruto's story, "A few nights ago, while Yamato-sensei and I were sleeping, I woke up cause...well...nature called." He could see that the others responded in a typical 'that's Naruto alright.' look. "I stepped out to deal with it, but before I could go back inside, the tribe came. I saw that they went into homes and took people out and into cages. I made sure they left me and Yamato alone, but when I saw them taking kids, I had to stop them. I took out one and took his clothes." Naruto tugged lightly on the collar of his new attire to show what they wore. "I used this as an oppurtunity to take out every single one of them. For each one I got rid of, I made a shadow clone to take his place. Eventually, I got rid of them all and assumed the identity of the entire tribe."

"Well, if you took them all out, then why did you leave the village in the first place?" Sai asked.

"Because only a small group of the tribe was in the village. The rest were here, so I had to go with the plan of taking the captured people to this place." Naruto answered, "When I heard of the ceremony that was going to happen, I thought it was best to wait for that time before getting rid of Naikito."

"Speaking of Naikito, we should take care of him." Yamato suggested, "Perhaps, Tsunade-sama would like to deal with him."

"Good idea." Kakashi said, "You and Naruto find him and bind him. I have to deal with one thing." He walked off, heading to Naikito's tent.

"Poor guy." Naruto said, "Bad enough to know that his dad killed himself, but now he finds some creep taking his father's head as a trophy."

"Come on Naruto, let's find Naikito." Yamato said.

The two walked towards the area of the forest where Naruto sent Naikito flying.

"I must say, you're training really did pay off." Yamato said, "For the entire three years we were training, I only had to suppress the Kyuubi five times. You managed to deal with the control on your own."

As the two made their way to where the trail of the ditch ended, they found nothing.

"Uh oh..." Naruto said, "Where is he?"

"This can't be right." Yamato said, "With an attack like that, no one can get up from it that quickly."

"He probably got up and ran away like a baby." Naruto said, "Let's get the villagers back home."

* * *

"Well, its great to see you all back again." Tsunade said, with Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, and Hinata. After five days, the team was finally back in the village, "Although I expected you to be back sooner."

"We had some trouble." Kakashi said, "A tribe led by a missing-nin captured many people from the village, we saved the villagers and brought them back home. Aside from that, we finished our mission."

"And?"

"Akatsuki were there because Yamato and Naruto were." Kakashi answered.

"Naruto?" Tsunade asked, "He was there?"

"Hai." Kakashi answered, as well as Sakura, Hinata, and Sai.

"Well, where is he?" Tsunade asked, anxiously.

"He's right outside." Kakashi answered.

"Well, bring him in." Tsunade said with a tone of partial impatience.

Kakashi turned to walk to the door to open it.

"Um, Kakashi. Might I ask what you are holding?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. Its of personal matters." Kakashi answered. He opened the door and left the room, leaving it open for Naruto to enter.

As Naruto stepped into the office, Tsunade gave a look of shock to see that he was indeed here. "Naruto, you really are back."

"Did you miss me Baa-chan?" Naruto asked with his same smile.

Tsunade ignored the nickname that she had long been away from for the last three years. What really puzzled her was the blindfold that he wore, "Naruto, what's with the blindfold?"

Naruto's smile quickly faded, "Um..I..can't tell you." Naruto said, bringing his head down.

"Alright then." Tsunade saw that forcing Naruto to answer the question would upset him, "How did training go?"

"It went great." Naruto quickly changed to his smiling self, "I learned alot of new stuff.

"Really. Well then, maybe we should find out." Tsunade smiled, "Come back here tomorrow afternoon. I'll have something arranged for you then. Until that time, you're all dismissed."

* * *

Kakashi stood over a grave that was just buried. The gravestone for this grave had his father's name engraved on the stone. He wasn't alone, his ninken were with him as he stood there.

"Thank you for your help." Kakashi said. A small tear pricked from his right eye and traced down his face.

"Well, at least you father is whole again." Pakkun said, as he finished patting down on the dirt that buried the grave.

* * *

"Boy, this place sure hasn't changed much for the three years I was gone." Naruto said.

Hinata was still confused as to how Naruto could actually see things with the blindfold on, but chose to save her question about it for later.

"Um...Naruto-kun..." Hinata asked, "Would you...like to get something to...eat?"

"If its ramen, then of course." Naruto smiled.

Before Hinata could say anything to that, a sudden call from behind stopped her.

"Naruto!" Ino jumped on Naruto's back with a strong hug.

"Ach!" Naruto wheezed out his breath through his constricted throat.

"You're really back!" Ino smiled, "Welcome home." As she released her arms around his neck, she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, what was that for?" Naruto asked, rubbing the cheek where he was pecked.

"You've been gone for three years." Ino said, placing her hands on her hips, "I'm entitled to show some care. And besides, I still remember that you owe me for those flowers you got for Hinata before you left."

"Aw crap." Naruto groaned, "I thought you would forget."

"Now how about you treat me to some dinner." Ino smiled, in a foxy grin, "And the bill's on you."

"But I can't." Naruto said, "I'm going to get some ramen with Hinata."

"No, its ok." Hinata said, "You can go with Ino."

"But, I said I'd go with you." Naruto said.

"We can go another time." Hinata said, "And um, I forgot. I have training with Neji." Hinata didn't feel like lying to Naruto, but she felt that she shouldn't hog Naruto all to herself today. But was that the reason? Was there some other reason for her to suddenly let Naruto go off with Ino?

"Um, ok. Don't forget to tell him I'm back." Naruto said. As Hinata walked away, Naruto called her name. "Hinata." She turned around, "I'm really sorry about not eating with you tonight."

Hinata simply smiled, "You can make it up to me another time."

Naruto smiled back as both of them went their seperate ways, "So, where do you feel like going?" He asked Ino.

"Well, I've spent too much time with Choji and Shikamaru eating grilled meat." Ino said, "How about ramen?"

Naruto's face quickly changed to a wide smile, "I was hoping you would say that."

"But don't forget, you'r paying for me." Ino said.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto grumbled. He then realized that something was missing in him, "Um...Ino? Can we head to my place?"

Ino suddenly blushed deeply, "What's the matter with you?!" Ino asked, "I was just making a friendly gesture, you can't expect me to sleep with you tonight."

"What?!" Naruto asked, shocked by her accusation, "No! I just need to go home and get some money!"

"...oh..." Ino's blush brightened. "Um, don't worry about it, I'll pay for tonight."

"You sure?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry, it'll be a homecoming present from me."

* * *

Sasuke and his team were walking through an open area of a forest.

"This is strange." Suigetsu said, looking around the place. There were fallen tents, burnt out campfires, and a large crater. "It seems like someone was here recently."

"The fire burnt out a while ago." Jugo said, looking at the campfire nearby, "They possibly left three days ago."

"Let's not stay here." Sasuke said, "Judging by the state of this place, there was a battle. If we stay, we might face one of our own."

"Well, I'm all down for it." Suigetsu said.

"No." Sasuke said, "We keep walking."

"Yeah, after his fight with Akatsuki, Sasuke shouldn't fight for a while." Karin said to Suigetsu.

"He was nothing." Suigetsu said, "I saw the whole fight. Sasuke treated those clay bombs like fire crackers. Of course, I still hold my words that you shouldn't have used an animal to take the blow for you."

"Manda was of no further use anyways." Sasuke said, "He only helps Orochimaru. Now that he's dead, Orochimaru has no powerful summonings."

As the group kept walking, Sasuke looked back at the condition of the campsite. _I know you were here, Naruto. Don't worry, we'll meet again soon._

* * *

**Well, looks like Naruto's back home. If you guys are still wondering about the blindfold, its gonna be a long while before the secret behind it is revealed. But feel free to make your theories, but remember, send those theories through pm, not reviews. If you made a theory and it turns out to be what really happens, I don't want others to have that spoiler.**

**Naikito's gone, but he's still not out. His disappearance is gonna be explained next chapter. Bet none of you were expecting him to be s hinobi himself. his fire jutsus will be part of a great idea that I will reveal when he makes his next appearance against the Konoha ninjas.**

**I almost forgot about Deidara being killed in a fight against Sasuke, I was planning on making a chapter for their fight, but I thought 'might as well leave it'. If you want to know how he dies, read the Naruto manga of his fight with Sasuke.**

**About that little part with Naruto and Ino, don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen between those two, I just thought it would be a little funny for Ino to still remember what happened three years ago.**


	14. A Mission With a Surprise

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long, so thank you all for your patience.**

**Well, now that Naruto's back, we can move on with the plot.**

* * *

The taste of ramen came back into his mind after being away from it for so long. He slurped up the last portion of the noodles and finished up drinking up the broth. He set the bowl down and using his sleeve, he wiped his lips clean. 

"Thanks for the dinner Ino." Naruto smiled.

The two had just finished eating, with empty bowls left on the counter.

"Aren't you the one who paid?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, but you were the first person I went with since I came back." Naruto answered.

Ino smiled "So now that you're back, I suppose you plan to keep your promise to Sakura?"

"Of course." Naruto answered with a determined look, "I wouldn't go back on my word."

Ino suddenly got curious, "Give me your hands." She said.

"What?"

"Just let me see them." She turned on her seat so that she was facing Naruto.

Naruto brought his hands up and placed them on hers. Ino looked carefuly at the hands, concentrating on something that Naruto didn't seem to understand.

"Oh wow..." Ino commented.

"What?" Naruto asked, not seeing what amazed her.

"You must have been in a lot of fights." Ino said, "And you've encounter situations involving fire and wind. You also seem to have used that sword of yours frequently."

Naruto was surprised by this observation of hers, "How..how did you know?"

"The condition of your hand says it all." Ino answered, "I know how you can be a fast healer, but skin can never be perfectly healed." Ino then remembered back to why Naruto left in the first place, remembering the reason why he couldn't stay. "The Kyuubi can't even make battle damages disappear either."

Naruto tensed slightly when he heard Ino say _his_ name.

"Oh don't worry." Ino said, showing a sympathetic smile, "I don't see you any more differently than before." She broke the connection their hands had, "And besides, if you really were a monster, you would have killed us a long time ago. A monster wouldn't protect people, let alone have people to care for."

"Thanks..Ino..." Naruto answered, "That means a lot to me."

"Well, at least it now answers lots of the qeustions I've had about you." Ino said, "Such as how you have such an enormous amount of chakra, how you were able to beat Neji in the Chuunin Exams, and how you only get scratches in situations that should give you scars."

Naruto chuckled a little bit. "Well, this was great. But I'm really tired."

"Alright." Ino smiled, "I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah." Naruto answered with his own smile, "I'll see you later."

The two left the Ramen stand and went their seperate ways. Ino's flower shop was in one direction, while Naruto's home was in the other direction.

* * *

Naruto arrived at his home. As he opened the door, he expected to be welcomed with a large dust cloud and scattered clothes, but when the door opeend to reveal the interior, he was greeted with something completely different. His entire apartment was spotless; the floors were clean with no traces of dust, the mangas that were usually left on the floors were neatly placed on the shelves, the kitchen table was cleaned from all food he left lying around, the sink was left with no dirty dishes, and the clothes on his sofa were folded and placed on the cushion. 

"What the..." Naruto was confused as to why his apartment was left so clean. He remembered that he didn't bother cleaning the place up when he left. He walked to his bedroom and found that it was also clean. The bedsheets and blanket were neatly laid out on he bed, all is scattered clothes were no longer on the floor, but probably in the drawers and closet, and his bookshelf was sorted out. "Who cleaned my place?"

As he proceeded to head out, he saw that there was something left on his coffee table in the living room. He walked up to it and saw that it was a note. Next to the note, his brown strap forehead protector was on the table. He picked up the note and read the contents.

_Welcome back._

_I knew you would come home eventually. I took the liberty of cleaning your home while you were away, I hope you're alright with that._

_Everyone else helped out too, be sure to thank them as well._

_Hyuga, Hinata_

Naruto smiled as he placed the note back on the table. He took his forehead protector from the table, holding it firmly in his grip. With his other hand, he pulled the blindfold off his face, closing his eyes as he did. He then took the forehead protector and wrapped it over his eyes, using it as his new blindfold.

* * *

"Well, with Naruto returning to the team, this will make things work a little bit better." Tsunade said, sitting at her desk while the shinobi were standing on the other side. Yamato, Guy, and Kakashi stood there with their students. "This mission requires all of you." 

"But, I just got back home yesterday." Naruto groaned.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but this needs ever available shinobi." Tsunade said, "I need you all to go to Suna."

"Well, since its to there, I don't mind at all." Naruto said.

"I'm sure Gaara misses you too." Tsunade said with a smile. "You all have 20 minutes before leaving. You're all dismissed."

The shinobi all left the office in an orderly fashion. Naruto couldn't help but see how much they've all changed.

Shino finally managed to get out of the coat that hid his entire face. He now wore a coat that had a smilar look as before, but no more hood or high collar. His face was a lot more visible than before, but he still wore his sunglasses, which Naruto didn't bother asking about.

Kiba didn't make much change in what he wore, but he now had a pair of sais stored at the back of his belt. Aside from that, nothing much changed. And as usual, Akamaru was there with him.

Guy's team was one that didn't make any changes. They all wore the same clothes ae before, the only difference in them was simply their hair. Lee grew his out more, Neji's hair was now braided in a chinese fashion queue, Tenten finally removed the two buns and resorted to a ponytail.

As Naruto walked out, he noticed something unusual. "Hey, Shino, where's your sensei?"

"She's at home." Shino answered.

"What's she doing at home?" Naruto asked, "Why are you guys here when she's not?"

"She's been mourning for the past few weeks, dumbass." Kiba said.

"Mourning?" Naruto asked, "About what?"

* * *

Kurenai stood alone at the cemetary, she liked it better this way. Ever since this incident, she never liked being around people, she wasn't able to comprehend the fact she lost someone close to her. 

The name was engraved on the stone, with other words, but the name was what she looked at.

Sarutobi, Asuma

* * *

"Oh..." Naruto brought his head down, "I'm sorry. I didn't know." 

"I can't blame you." Shino said, "You were gone when it happened."

"Hey guys, we only have 20 minutes to prepare." Kiba said, "Let's go."

Naruto could sense that there was somthing in Kiba's voice that seemed irritated, "What's wrong with Kiba?"

"Ever since Asuma-sensei was killed, both Kurenai-sensei and Kiba didn't take it too well." Shino answered, "After Kurenai-sensei took a leave of absence, I was put in charge of leading the team."

"So you mean he was jealous of leadership?" Naruto asked.

"No, it wasn't that. Both he and Hinata respect me as a great leader." Shino said, "But because of the fact we have no jounin to lead us, we weren't put on many missions. Kiba became irritated by this. He doesn't wish to make any mistakes in this."

"I see..." Naruto said.

"You better head back home and prepare." Shino said, "Don't be late."

* * *

Within the twenty minutes of prepared, the entire team was there, and surprisingly, Naruto made it on time. 

"Is everyone here?" Kakashi asked. He scanned the group and saw that no one was misisng, "Perfect, we leave at once."

"This is an urgent mission, we need to go with speed." Gai said, "Lee and I will go ahead to make sure there's no danger up ahead."

"That works well." Kakashi said, "Yamato, take a bunshin out and join them."

"Can he keep up with us Kakashi-sensei?" Lee asked.

"I guess we'll find out." Yamato said. He put his hands together for a seal, "_Moku Bunshin no Jutsu_(Wood clone technique)." From his body, a large chunk of wood pulled itself out of Yamato, taking form of an exact replica of Yamato. "I'll be able to tell Kakashi-senpai of anything the three of us come across with this clone."

"Then lets get moving." Kakashi said.

The entire team went on to head to Suna. Part way there, Guy, Lee and Yamato's wood clone moved on ahead at a faster speed. While the others stayed to move in a steady pace.

* * *

When nighttime came, the team set up camp and prepared a fire. The tents were set up for each team to sleep in. 

"Ok. Shino, your team will take this tent. Gai's team will take this one. Yamato and Sai will be in that one, and my team will be in here." Kakashi said, pointing to each individual tent. "We will wake up just after sunrise."

Within the next hour, everyone was fast asleep. All of them warmly comfortable in their tents and sleeping bag.

But it didn't last very long.

Sakura woke up when she senses something was missing. She got up and noticed that Naruto was not in his sleeping bag, and saw that the tent was slightly open. She got out of her sleeping bag and left the tent, cautiously stepping over Kakashi, making sure he didn't wake up. She went outside and looked for wher Naruto could be. It wasn't hard, because there was a strange sound coming from behind the tent. She followed the sound, leading her through some trees. When she came closer and closer to the location, she saw someone she didn't expect at this time of night.

"Hinata?"

Hinata slightly jumped when she heard her name, but kept quiet. "Sakura, what are you doing awake?"

"I could ask the same about you." Sakura answered.

"Look." Hinata pointed towards where she was looking.

Both girls found themselves staring at Naruto. He was no longer wearing his black shirt, which was hanging on a tree branch, as well as his large orange sash and blindfold. The tree that had all these items were right next to the two konouchi. He held his katana tightly as he went through several katas with it. He sliced through the air as the dust and loose leaves moved with the blade's motion.

"Wow..." Hinata was astounded by this new Naruto. Despite his blindfold being removed, his face was hidden from the shadows of the trees.

"He's gotten much stronger." Sakura said.

Naruto continued on with his sword techniques, taking stances and slashing at the open air. As he went on with his training, he suddenly stopped and faced the direction that the two girls were hiding. The two of them immedietly ducked behind the bushes.

"Did he see us?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know." Sakura said, "Maybe we should just head back to our tents."

* * *

Naruto waited until he was sure that the two girls were gone. Once he knew they were out of sight, he sighed. 

"That was close." Naruto muttered. He walked towards the tree that had all of his belongings. He took the forehead protector and wrapped it over his eyes, then moving on to putting the shirt on, followed by the sash and the belts.

* * *

It was now the second day and the shinobi were getting closer to the desert land of the Wind Country. As before; Guy, Lee and Yamato's wood clone went ahead, while the others traveled in their own easy pace. 

"You know Naruto, its really confusing as to how you can see with a blindfold on." Sakura said, "Why do you even wear it?"

"I'm sorry Sakura, I can't tell you." Naruto answered.

"Oh come on." Sakura smiled, thinking Naruto had something to hide that would end up with everyone laughing. "You think you might more girls that way?"

"Sakura, just stop." Naruto said, "This is no joke." The tone of his voice started to sound serious

"Naruto, why not just take it off before you end up bumping into a tree." Sakura joked, not knowing she had gone too far.

"Sakura!" Naruto's voice raised up to get her attention, and apparently everyone else's. "I told you to stop! I have this on for a reason, but I just can't tell anyone right now."

Everyone fell silent, not wanting to say anything that might make Naruto cause another outburst. They all continued to pace through the trees, heading closer to Suna. It all went well, right up until...

"Hey! Did you see that?" Tenten asked, pointing to the side.

They all turned their gaze to where she was pointing. Within the next few seconds a shadowed figure appeared from the trees.

"Should we do something?" Neji asked.

"Its no threat now." Kakashi said, "We should head to Suna instead. Ignore it until they strike first."

"No." Naruto said sternly.

"What?" Everyone looked at Naruto.

"Its him." Naruto quickly darted to the side, following the unknown follower.

"Naruto!" Kakashi quickly saw that Naruto had darted off.

"I'll get him back." Kiba said, "Come on Akamaru." Kiba's canine companion barked in agreement as the two followed after Naruto.

"Hey wait!" Tenten followed after him, "What about our mission?!"

"Tenten!" Neji quickly followed after her.

"Hey wait!" Kakashi knew he couldn't stop the whole team and get them, but something had to be done.

* * *

Naruto followed closely to the unknown target, with the others trailing behind him. 

"Naruto! We have to get back!" Kiba called out.

Naruto didn't bother listening. He continued to move on ahead, not stopping until he caught up with his target. Kiba and Akamaru were still trailing behind him with Neji and Teten following along. From the secrecy of the trees, a kunai shot out and hit Akamaru's left rib. The yelping of pain made Kiba stop instantly.

"Akamaru!" Kiba quickly grabbed onto Akamaru and dropped to the ground below, "Oh no.." He saw the kunai was still in his companion's flesh. He struggled to pull the blade out without causing too much pain, but as he slowly pulled it out, Akamaru continued to yelp, "Just a little more..."

When he heard the sound of Akamaru's pain cry, Naruto quickly stopped and turned back to see what happened. Tenten and Neji were with Kiba when Naruto arrived. "Is he alright?"

Before Kiba could answer, a group of ninjas appeared. The attire they wore and the headband showed their allegiance.

"Sound-nins." Naruto hissed out.

Tenten and Neji took their stance as they prepared to strike at the attackers. There were a total of four Sound-nins, each of them being unidentified by masks. They each wore a thick purple rope that was double looped at the back.

"Byakugan!" The veins on Neji's temples bulged out to be clearly visible.

"Kiba, we can use some help." Tenten said.

"Hang in there buddy." Kiba tried to clean the wound on Akamaru.

"No time." Naruto said, "Here they come."

The Sound-nins charged at the three. The first Sound-nin attacked Naruto with an, overhead kick, but was blocked with Naruto shielding himself with his arms crossed over his head. Naruto pushed the foot up and with his two hands, he thrusted them with a strong punch that threw the attacker back. Naruto jumped up and prepared a slam with his shins. As he came closer to the Sound-nin he moved out of the way, leading to naruto simply slamming on the dirt ground.

Tenten brought out two broadswords, swinging them around as the Sound-nin stepped side to side, anticipating her moves. Tenten made the first move by diving in, slashing forward as she went forward. The Sound-nin didged the blow, but that didn't stop Tenten. She contineud to slash away, in hopes of hitting her target. With a surprise up her sleeves, she made a sudden twist of her body and delivered kick to the shinobi's face.

Neji stood still as the Sound-nin charged at him. As the attacker came closer, Neji immedietly attacked, "_Hakke Kuusho_(Eight Trigrams Empty Palm)!" A sudden burst of Chakra emited from his hands as the Sound-nin was thrown backwards by the force. The Sound-nin collided into a tree that fell from the the force. "Easy." He suddenly heard the sound of a girl scream. His Byakugan was enough to know who it was, but because he knew, he had to turn to see with his own eyes. "Tenten!" Tenten slid across the grass from an attack by the Sound-nin. Neji ran to get to her, but before he reached her, a small tinge of pain suddenly spread through his entire body, starting from the back of his neck.

Standing behind Neji, with a chopping hand at the back of his neck, a Sound-nin stood there. Neji's eyes immedietly changed back to its original form with the Byakugan deactivated.

"A blind spot indeed." the Sound-nin said. He grabbed his mask and pulled it off revealing his face, Kabuto. "Looks like even a Hyuga has its flaws."

Neji felt himself being stiff. He forced his body to move, but it wouldn't cooperate. Kabuto simply smiled as he used the same hand and hit Neji at the back of the head, knocking him down. He landed on his knees, with his eyes still opened wide from the sudden shock of pain. He then fell forward falling over and unconscious.

"Take these two." Kabuto said, "Leave that boy." Kabuto stared at Naruto as he fended off against the Sound-nin that attacked him, _Who is he? He looks so familiar, yet I cannot recognize him._ Without wasting any time, he jumped up to the top of the trees, leaving the scene.

The remaining three Sound-nin joined him as they escaped the scene, two of them took Neji and Tenten's knocked out bodies as they made their escape. Naruto tried to run after them, but knew he couldn't keep up at the rate they were moving.

"Damn." He muttered.

From behind, Kakashi, and Sakura arrived. Sakura ran over to Kiba and Akamaru's side.

"How is he?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know." Kiba answered. He looked with concern of Akamaru's conditions.

"Its alright. I can take care of this." Sakura said, "This is just a minor flesh wound."

Kiba sighed with relief, "Thank you."

"Its a good thing you cleaned out his wound." Sakura said, "Even if I healed it, it could have still got an infection if it wasn't clean."

"What happened?" Kakashi asked. Naruto didn't answer, but the state of the area was enough to know that there was a battle. Kakashi looked around and noticed taht something was out of place, "Where is Neji and Tenten?"

Naruto didn't answer him right away. But he was able to give an answer eventually. It wasn't much of an answer, it was only one word, but that one word could answer millions of questions.

"Orochimaru."

* * *

**Well, there you have it. I'm really sorry this took so long, but homework got in the way many times.**

**I promise that the next chapter will come next week. I PROMISE.**

**Anyways, please remember to review.**


	15. Kyuubi's Push

**I understand that some of you may be confused as to why Kabuto took Tenten and Neji. This chapter will answer that question, you just need to read it.**

**Please remember to review.

* * *

**

Neji opened his eyes. He looked around him to see where he was, trying to recollect what happened. He remembered that he was with Tenten in the forest on their way to Suna. He then remembered someone attacking and him blacking out. Putting everything together, he realized that he and Tenten were captured by whoever this enemy is. The area was dark, with everything in wet stone. A few torches were scattered through the halls. He looked ahead and saw Tenten before him, her arms were raised up to the ceiling with chains wrapped around wrists, connecting to the ceiling. Her feet were also chained and connected down to the ground.

"Tenten..." Neji tried moving, but found himself chained in the same position as her.

"Neji?" Tenten looked up and saw that Neji was awake.

Before any more interaction could be made, the sound of a chamber door opening was heard. The two Konoha shinobi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of dark figures approuching them.

"Looks like their finally awake." One of them said. With the light from the torch, they revealed themselves to be the Sound-nins that attacked them before.

"What do you want from us?" Neji asked, his face giving a look that seemed to say, _I'm gonna kill you._

"We're under orders of Orochimaru-sama." The leading member answered. He approuched the two and the minimal light revealed his identity; Kabuto, "I have questions, and you two are going to answer them."

"I'm not saying anything." Neji hissed out.

Suddenly, a swift punch came and met with Neji's face. The force pushed him back, but the chains kept him from falling, or from rubbing the bruise.

"Watch your mouth boy." The puncher said.

"Now, when we spotted you, there were few others with you." Kabuto said, "Was Uzumaki Naruto with you? If so, when did he return? If not, where is he?"

"You're not going to get anything out of me." Neji said, still holding strong to his words.

"Give him another." Kabuto nodded to the one who previously punched him.

Neji felt another punch to his face. The pressure he was getting from the chains didn't make it any better. The punch left a cut on his cheek, with began to flow out small traces of blood.

"Maybe if you're a little more cooperative, I may make your stay a little more comfortable." Kabuto said with surprising sympathy. "Just answer my questions, and I'll let you free of those chains."

"Don't tell him anything." Tenten called out.

Kabuto turned around and gave Tenten a punch for her. "You keep quiet. Your turn will come eventually." He then reached out and grabbed Tenten's face, holding her cheeks between his hand, ""I personally don't like hurting women, but Orochimaru-sama's wishes come before mine."

"Keep your hands off her!" Neji screamed.

Kabuto faced Neji and in anger, he made the punches, landing several punches on his body, Neji grunted in pain. Tenten closed her eyes and faced away, unable to bear seeing him get tortured.

"Answer my question!" Kabuto demanded with a rage-filled voice, "Tell me now!"

Neji inhaled deeply, trying to fight the pain he had in his body, "I'd rather die..."

"That can be arranged!" Kabuto pulled out a kunai from his punch and held it to Neji's throat. He then looked over to Tenten, hearing her make quiet whimpers of fear, "On second thought..." He removed the kunai and put it back in his pouch. He walked over to Tenten and forced her body to turn to face Neji by twisting the chains. "You may be willing to sacrifice your life, but are you willing to sacrifice hers?" He grabbed Tenten's hair and landed on strong punch to her face.

"Tenten!" Neji forced himself to move, but with his feet off the ground, he could do nothing.

Kabuto punched Tenten in her stomach and connect it with a knee to the same spot. "I'm not too sure as to how much she can handle." Kabuto landed more punchs to her. By the time he took a moment to stop, her face was bruised and bloody.

"Don't...say...any..thing..." Tenten forced out from the immense pain in her.

Kabuto punched her cheek again and continued to brutally beat her senseless. Neji closed his eyes, trying to hope that everything that was happening was a bad dream and that he would wake up, but the sound of the punches and Tenten screaming in pain proved it to be useless. The pain that was happening finally made him snap.

"Stop!" Neji screamed out. Tears were in his eyes, unable to see Tenten get hurt anymore, "Please stop, I'll tell you everything."

* * *

"Gaara, they're all here." Temari said as she entered the Kazekage's office.

"Then bring them in, please." Gaara replied.

Temari opened the door further and the group of Konoha shinobi entered the office. While many of them were familiar in looks, Naruto stood out from the others with his appearance, but Gaara chose to save his question on that for another time.

"There are only ten of you." Gaara noted, "I was informed that twelve were to arrive."

"We...ran into trouble." Kakashi spoke, "We lost Neji and Tenten to unknown captors."

"With the situation, numbers are going to mean everything." Gaara said. His concern for his village hasn't changed, but this time, he wasn't planning to simply give up his life for it, he planned to fight for it first. "But right now, I must have you all assigned to your posts."

"By all means, give us our assignments." Guy said, "We came to carry out a mission."

"Very well." Gaara grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk and handed it to Kakashi, "The names of your students are all there."

"Arigato, Kazekage-sama." Kakashi took the paper and looked over it, "OK, Sakura, Naruto, and Kiba are to be posted at the northwest tower. Sai and Lee are to go to the southern gates. Hinata and Shino will gaurd the entrance at the western stronghold. Guy, Yamato, and I are to join the rest of the gaurds at the front wall, but with the absence of Neji and Tenten, Yamato and I will take their place at the southeast tower."

The students all nodded in agreement, all except for Naruto, who seemed to look disappointed for being assigned with Sakura.

* * *

"So, Naruto was with them..." Kabuto had just left the cell that the Konoha shinobi were in. "Perhaps that one I saw back then was him." He remembered the blonde shinobi that he saw before he left with his comrades. He knew how to tell if someone was Naruto by the whiskers on his cheeks, but the distance between the two made it difficult to notice any distinguishing features on the face. "They are heading for Suna, gather some more Sound-nins." He gave the order to the three others.

The shinobi bowed in respect and left to gather their troops.

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, and Kiba sat around at their post, looking at the distance for any sign of trouble. While Kiba and Sakura kept their eyes out to the horizon, Naruto was resting on the floor.

"Naruto, you know, it'd be nice if you contributed once in a while." Kiba said.

"I just can't help but wonder if Neji and Tenten are alright." Naruto answered back.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Sakura said, "I know Neji will make it through it all."

"Well, you know, this wouldn't have happened if you never stopped to chase after those guys." Kiba said. "If we had stayed on the path like everyone else, all of us would be here."

"Oh, so your saying its my fault that Neji and Tenten are captured?" Naruto asked, getting up from the floor. "If you didn't stop to check up on your dog, and instead helped me fight off the attackers, they'd still be here."

"Let's not forget, the attackers only came, cause you followed them." Kiba retaliated, "Akamaru wouldn't have been injured if you stayed with the group."

"Kiba-kun!"

Kiba turned to see who it was that called him. From below, just a few feet from the tower, Hinata was with Reiko and Kinara. Before he could respond with a smile or a wave, Naruto threw a fist at the teenager and knocked him to the ground.

"You are an ass, you know that?!" Naruto yelled, "You think you can still treat me less, just because of a few mishaps in the past. Its been three years, can't you cut me some slack!?"

It was only a matter of time before Hinata and Reiko arrived to the top of the tower.

"Naruto, what's gotten into you!?" Sakura yelled, seeing Kiba on the ground and Naruto looking very upset.

"You stay out of this!" Naruto pointed to Sakura. Of course, with the blindfold, she couldn't see his eyes, but how his eyebrows were slanted, he was indeed very angry. "You've been showing me such little respect, even when I prove myself to be strong and save you, you still treat me like crap! What more do I have to do?! Why do you treat me like the weak one when the real weak shinobi is _you_!?"

Sakura gasped as she tried to take in everything Naruto had said to her. The words hurt her deeply, so deeply, that she couldn't stop the tears from coming out from her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Reiko asked, helping Kiba up by grabbing onto his arms and lifting him.

"I'm fine." Kiba said, "I just have to straighten this guy out."

"You see?! You think you can treat me like a kid. I trained myself and became a jouin at the exams held in the Lightning Country!" Naruto yelled again, turning away from Sakura. "And just so you know, I was one of the first few to pass!"

"I've had better knowledge in leadership than you Naruto, the number of tricks you learn doesn't prove anything!" Kiba was now getting just as angry as the blond ninja, "We were put together for this mission because I'm the better leader and you need that leadership. You can't expect to get some kind of extra respect after coming home from a three year disappearance!"

"I left because I needed to have better control of the Kyuubi without hurting anyone!" Naruto yelled, knowing full well, he no longer has to hide the secret. "I'm better off making my own choices so get used to me saying 'no'!"

"You may be a jounin now, but you still lack the skills for one. You're irresponsible, undisciplined, and most importantly..." Kiba took in a deep breath, "You're weaker than me."

"Weaker huh?" Naruto asked, "You know what my canine friend," Naruto reached for the katana that was strapped to the back of his waist. He slowly unsheathed the blade and brought it forward, "I'm gonna have to disagree with on that." He ignored the looks of worry coming from the girls, he wanted to settle the score with Kiba.

"Don't do this Naruto." Kiba insisted, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, _I_ want to hurt _you_." Naruto responded. He clenched his left fist tightly, giving the sound of his knuckles cracking.

Kiba sighed as he took out his two sais from the back of his belt. "You're going to regret this." Akamaru moved to Kiba's side, growling at Naruto. "Akamaru, stay out of this, this is between the two of us." Meaning him and Naruto. Akamaru did as ordered and walked over to where the girls were.

The two stood facing eachother for their fight. Hinata, Sakura, and Reiko simply stood to one side, knowing that words wouldn't stop them. Naruto grinned as his body slowly began to fade away.

"Invisibility..." Kiba remarked,_ He didn't use any scroll or hand signs for that. It must be manipulated chakra, like his Rasengan._ "You might be able to avoid my eyes, but I can still smell you." Kiba quickly shot back and threw his arm up with the sai gripped tightly. Though eyes failed to show what just happened, the sound of something metal clanging with the sai made it clear that Naruto attempted an attack from behind. Kiba then spun around, delivering a roundhouse kick to the invisible genin. The sound of Naruto grunting in pain as well as the trace of dust from a wall revealed that Kiba had hit him and sent him hitting the wall.

Naruto's body slowly faded back to view, "Ok, I guess that won't work." He ran at Kiba with his sword forward, ready to make a vertical cut.

Kiba blocked the blow with his sai. Attempting to attack, he used his other free hand to try and slice Naruto's chest, but Naruto quickly backed away from it. Kiba ran at Naruto with his two sais ready to pierce the blonde ninja's flesh. As he got closer, Naruto simply waved his sword in front of him. When Kiba came in range, he suddenly felt something stopping him. A force of unknown energy emitted and knocked th sais from Kiba's grip. The force also brought Kiba sliding backwards.

"You still think I'm weaker?" Naruto asked, "I spent my training manipulating chakra for uses that no other ninja in Konoha can do."

Kiba, now angry at this, got down on his hands and legs. He made a small growl at Naruto, ready to take things further. He jumped forward, with his clawed fingers out and forward. Naruto sliced his katana, but Kiba's claws deflected the blow. Kiba twisted his body so that his hands were the first to touch the ground. Once they did, he thrusted his legs out, aiming for Naruto's face. Naruto quickly ducked to dodge the two feet, but met with a fist to his face. Naruto staggered back from the blow, trying to regain balance. As he stood with his katana still gripped in his right hand, a small trace of blood trailed down from his left nostril.

Naruto brought the blade of his katana closer to his face. "_Fuuton: Fuusha Shuuha no Jutsu_(Wind Release: Windmill Attacking Blades Technique)!" The blade began to emit a bright blue aura of wind energy. With one swift swing of his blade, he sliced forward, unleashing the wind, which took form of a four winged-windmill. The wings were each bladed and spun rapidly towards Kiba.

"_Tsuga_(Piercing Fang)!" Kiba spun at high speed, seeming to look like a minature tornado. The two spinning entities collided and a large explosion occured.

Everyone that was watching sheilded their eyes from the debris. When it all settled, Naruto and Kiba were still standing.

_He's not going to back down anytime soon._ Kiba panted heavily, _He really is alot stronger than before._

Kiba charged forward, ready to use both his hands to claw Naruto. Before Naruto had time to counter it, Kiba's clawed hands were on his throat, the nails were digging into his flesh. Naruto grabbed onto Kiba's wrists, trying to fight away the stinging pain of Kiba's fingernails into his skin. Naruto held his ground and Kiba tried to force Naruto down. As the two struggled for dominance, the girls showed great concern of the outcome. No matter who wins, they'll possibly be down by one more teammate.

"We need to get one of our senseis." Sakura said, "They have to stop this."

With a quick bark of agreement, Akamaru dashed out of the tower, heading to wherever Kakashi, Kurenai, or Guy was. This gave the girls the time to _hopefully_ try and stop the fight, but were unable to know how to start that.

The two shinobi still stood in the same position, as one was trying to overpower the other. Blood began to leak out of the cuts from Naruto's arm. Kiba's nails still remained in place, trying to force Naruto down.

"Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun! Stop, please!" Hinata begged. The last thing she wanted to see was Naruto defeated with heavy wounds, but one way or another one would lose.

As Naruto held his ground, he began to feel something stir in his mind.

**Use my power, show him the true meaning of being stronger.**

_No, I don't need you. I'm in control._

**He insulted you. You really want him to humiliate you in front of those females? Think of what would happen if you lost.**

_I don't need you. I can handle this myself._

**Are you saying that in hopes of simply beating him in this fight? Or do you want him to know that you're stronger than him? Whether you want it or not, you're getting my power.**

Naruto's struggle for control began to build up adreneline inside him. With each passing second, he felt that something was happening to him. He finally lost resistance over it; a small trace of red chakra formed over the jounin's body, waving around him like a sheet of clouds. His whiskers thickened and his teeth sharpened as he slowly began to tap into Kyuubi's power unwillingly. From the back of his body, two trails of the chakra sprouted out, forming 'tails' on him.

With new strength in him, Naruto made his move. Swinging his right arm, he sliced at Kiba's stomach, forcing him to stagger back and release his nails from Naruto's neck. With his back turned, Naruto flipped backwards and landed two kicks on Kiba's head as each leg went to the ground. He then thrusted towards Kiba, piercing his left shoulder with the katana and pinning him down to the ground.

Naruto stood over the defeated shinobi, growling with each exhale of a breath.

Suddenly it hit him. He left the village three years ago to prevent something like this from happening, but look at him now. He wasn't able to stop Kyuubi from taking control. Shocked in realization, he removed the blade from Kiba's shoulder and slowly backed away from him, the chakra cloak slowly dispersed from around his body. He now realized what he had done; he sliced at Kiba's stomach, kicked his head causing another cut, and stabbed his left shoulder. All this, leading up to him almost killing him. He looked over to his side and saw how scared the three female ninjas were, the look of fear in Hinata's eyes and small traces of tears pierced Naruto more painfully than Sasuke's Chidori.

He ran. He went to the edge of the tower and jumped off.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran over to the edge, looking down as Naruto fell.

Kakashi arrived with Akamaru. "What happened?"

Naruto's feet hit the ground below, but his balance didn't cooperate with him. He lost his footing and fell forward on the sandy ground. He quickly got up and continued to run, not looking back, nor looking at where he was going. He didn't care where he ran to, just as long as it was away from all of them.

Kakashi watched as the blonde haired boy continued to run. He knew that Naruto wouldn't run out of the village, but he would still be hard to find within. He looked down to where Naruto had landed and saw that the katana was left there. He looked back to Kiba and his wounds, "Sakura, can you heal him?"

"It'll take some time, but yeah." Sakura answered, still shaken by what she witnessed.

"Hinata, find him." Kakashi turned to the Hyuga.

"Hai. Byakugan." The veins formed next to Hinata's pearl eyes. She looked ahead, remembering the direction Naruto ran. As she increased her focus, she found him, "I see him." Suddenly, Naruto stopped running. As if he knew Hinata was looking, he turned back and faced her. Hinata knew Naruto couldn't see her, but couldn't help but feel uneasy when he looked at her. He then continued running, but as he did, his appearance in Hinata's eyes began to change. He suddenly began to fade from view, only leaving behind his chakra circulatory system to her view. Then suddenly, that too faded from her sight. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"He disappeared." Hinata answered, "I can't see him."

_Naruto, invisible even to the Byakugan?_ Kakashi was surprised. _How's that possible?_

* * *

**Surprised? How did Naruto find a way to be invisible to Hinata's Byakugan?**

**From what you can see, Naruto developed new abilities with chakra manipulation. I just thought that since Sasuke can fly with his Cursed Seal, why not give Naruto some abilities too?**


	16. War

**Well, Naruto sure isn't doing all that well. Let's see if someone can help him through his problems.

* * *

**

"How are you feeling Kiba-kun?" Reiko asked.

Kiba groaned slightly as he got up from the ground, "I'll be fine." Akamaru walked over to his side, licking his cheek as a sign of his relieved emotion. "Where's Naruto?" He aid it in a tone that didn't seem angry at all. It almost seemed like he was worried about him.

"He ran off." Kakashi said, "Hinata is still trying to find him."

"You're lucky that he didn't do anything serious." Sakura said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to heal you."

"Well, thanks anyways." Kiba smiled. He looked over back at Reiko. "Sorry, that this had to be how we meet again."

Reiko giggled, "I'm just glad your alright." Kinara walked over to Akamaru as the two made their greeting.

* * *

Hinata walked around the village, asking people if they had seen a Konoha shinobi with a blindfold on, but none of them were able to help.

Knowing Naruto, he would probably be somewhere where people can't get to easily. She thought the best hope of finding him was to ask Gaara for help. She dropped her Byakugan and made her way to Gaara's office.

The gaurds allowed her in, mainly because Temari was there to let Hinata off with no questioning. When she walked in, Gaara was sitting at his desk, filling out some documents.

"Gaara-sama." Hinata bowed.

"Gaara is enough." Gaara said, "What can I do for you...Hinata?" He never really had to deal with so many names, for he didn't expect to have to know names in the past. That all changed when he met Naruto and gained his first friend.

"Naruto-kun is missing." Hinata answered, "I was hoping you might know where he is."

"I would really like to help you, but I have not seen him since I gave out your assigned posts." Gaara said apologetically.

Before Hinata could say anything else or leave the office, both her and Gaara heard something outside the office on the roof. It sounded like an arguement between two men.

"How did someone get up there?" Gaara asked himself.

* * *

Naikito woke up from his apparent sleep. He found himself in a dark room, resting on a stone slab of a bed, with his arms and legs strapped down. He was cold, the stone was cold enough, but he had no clothes on, except for his pants. A streak of light filled the room as the door of the room opened.

"Well, looks like you're finally awake." The figure entering the room said.

"Who are you?" Naikito asked, "Where am I?"

"Where you are is of no importance right now. As for me, my name is Orochimaru." He replied, "I have chosen you to be my next successful experiment."

* * *

Naruto leaned on the railing on the roof of the Kazekage office. No one would look for him up here, since they would have to either fly to the top or go through the gaurds inside the building.

"All that training, for nothing." Naruto cursed at himself, "Three years, and I have almost nothing to show for it."

**"What can you expect?"** Kyuubi's voice appeared, but not in his mind. This time, the Kyuubi's voice was through Naruto's own lips. As Kyuubi was the one in control of the voice, his eyes were the red color of the fox.

"Just go away." Naruto said, his eyes suddenly changing back to blue.

**"I can't. I am you, as long as you're around, so am I."** Kyuubi said.

"I could have almost killed Kiba!" Naruto yelled, "I never wanted to hurt him. Its all because of you."

**"Actually, that was you alone."** Kyuubi laughed, "**The thought of wanting to hurt him was your own mind. I simply escalated that to wanting to kill him."**

"You're lying!" Naruto yelled, "I would never hurt my friends."

**"Friends?"** Kyuubi laughed in amusement, "**You call them your friends? You remember how they all treated you in the past? They thought you were weak. Every single one of them dispised you for your patheticness. That is why you can't save that Uchiha brat."**

"Don't talk about Sasuke like that!" Naruto yelled some more.

"I should have guessed you'd be here."

Naruto looked back and saw Gaara standing in front of the stairway that led to his office.

"I won't bother asking how you got here." Gaara said, "Since every shinobi is entitled to their own secrets."

Hinata came up the stairs, standing behind the Kazekage.

"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Naruto answered.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone up here." Gaara said, "It seemed like you were angry at this person."

"There was no one else here." Naruto answered, not wanting to explain his cinflict with Kyuubi. "Just me."

"I heard it too." Hinata said, "I heard you yelling about not wanting to hurt your friends."

Naruto just stayed by the railing, not wanting to talk much more. He's had enough for the time, he almost killed Kiba and now Kyuubi is becoming a bigger pain than before. But he was surprised to realize that Gaara and Hinata had just heard Kyuubi's voice as well. This wasn't going to be good.

"Well, now that you found him, I'll leave you two alone." Gaara turned to make his way back down the stairs. Hinata respectfully sidestepped to give him passage to the stairs. "I have some documents to deal with."

Naruto didn't bother to turn back to say goodbye to Gaara, he just stayed put, by the railing. Hinata walked over to him, slowly for she didn't know if he was still calm, considering what she witnessed. For the few minutes alone, neither of them said anything. Hinata didn't know what to say, and Naruto didn't want to talk. With a deep breath, Naruto took the guts to ask his question.

"Hinata, are you...afraid of me?" Naruto asked.

Hinata slightly trembled when she was asked. She didn't want to tell him, but she couldn't lie to him, "What happened with Kiba-kun, it did scare me." Hinata held her hands together and brought them close to her chest, "For that moment, when I saw you standing over him, I didn't know who you were."

Naruto felt so hurt when he heard that. Hinata, the one girl who actually had feelings beyond a simple friendship, she was scared of who he was.

"I'm..sorry." Naruto said, "I never wanted to scare anyone. I especially didn't want to hurt anyone." He cursed at himself. He left Konoha three years ago to train on how to suppress Kyuubi, but it failed him. He had no progress for it, it seemed that the training made the Kyuubi more difficult to manage with.

"I know you didn't." Hinata said. She turned around to face him, "I know that you're a person with a good heart, you would never hurt anyone intentionally."

Naruto turned to face the Hyuga. He was surprised to see how much she cared for him. "Hinata..."

Hinata's heart skipped a beat when his face turned to her. It was a feeling that she never really felt before. In the past, she would always blush at his presence, but the feeling she had now, it was much more. Her heart began to beat fast and her cheeks began to warm up. She prayed to herself that the feeling of being alone with Naruto wouldn't end. She saw that Naruto was slowly moving towards her. As if it was a reflex, she moved towards him, closeing her eyes and tilting her head to meet his lips with her own. Just as the two lips were about to touch, a sudden yell caught their ears.

"Sound-nins!" A Suna shinobi yelled, "Sound-nins at the south gates!"

Hinata looked down from the tower to look at the direction of the south gates. "Naruto-kun, I think we should..." When she turned to face Naruto, he was no longer there. "Naruto-kun?"

* * *

"Why did you bring me here?" Naikito asked.

"I witnessed you battle with a certain boy." Orochimaru said, "And I must say, your talents impress me." He remembered how Naikito had such incredible attacks through the Fire Release jutsus. He's seen fire techniques before, but the type that Naikito has done was new. "I'd like to offer you an agreement."

"Maybe if you let me loose I might actually hear it." Naikito said, struggling to break out of his bonds.

"Not yet." Orochimaru grinned, "I am willing to make you stronger and restore your clan. In return; you offer your allegience to me."

"What can you possibly do to make me stronger?" Naikito asked.

"I'm a scientist of sorts." Orochimaru smiled, "I've been conducting experiments on creating the most powerful shinobi ever." He thought back to his past experiments; Yamato, Anko, Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Jugo. "While you were sleeping, I've been experimenting with your body." He noticed that Naikito was giving him a look of fear and anger, "But don't worry, there's no mark to show it."

"What the hell did you do to me?" Naikito asked.

"I gave you some new chakra to add to your fire jutsus." Orochimaru walked to Naikito and proceeded to undo the bonds. "But know this, you try to kill me, then you will surely die." He unstrapped the last of the bonds and backed away, giving Naikito room to get off the bed.

"So, what can I do now?" Naikito asked, not feeling any different, or looking any different.

"You are from the Stone village." Orochimaru said, "A village hidden from the very country it originates from, learning the many ways of earth-based jutsus. I felt that you should have some strength from your lineage." He chuckled as he spoke, "Now go ahead, focus on both fire and earth and see what happens."

Naikito brought his hands out and opened his palms widely. He closed his eyes and concentrated on channeling both his fire element and earth. Orochimaru looked on in amusement, waiting for the results of his time and experimenting. Naikito's right hand began to be covered in flames and his left was swirling with a large amount of dirt. As Naikito looked at his hands in amusement, he did something, not understanding why he did it; he brought both hands together. The two elements combined and a burst of liquid red came out of his hands. When the substance dropped on the floor, Naikito looked in pure fascination while Orochimaru grinned his evil grin of success.

"This is incredible!" Naikito exclaimed, "You actually managed to give me the Earth element too."

"And I gave you a new element to use." Orochimaru said, "By combining fire and earth, you have created the new _Youganton_(Lava Release). The lava won't harm you."

Naikito noticed that a large portion of the lava was on him, but it didn't burn at all. He wiped the molten earth off his skin.

"Stay here and practice with it." Orochimaru said as he walked out of the room, "I have other matters to attend to." When he closed the door, he locked it, making sure Naikito wouldn't escape.

"Do you really think that would hold him?" Kabuto asked, who was standing outside the whole time. "Lava is a powerful substance Orochimaru-sama."

"That room can handle the hottest of temperatures." Orochimaru answered, "Lava will do no harm to the place. What did you get from the two?"

"Naruto is with them." Kabuto answered, "The Sound-nin have already left. They should be there by now."

* * *

The shinobi of Suna and Konoha gathered at the south gates, fending off against the Sound-nins that intruded into the village.

A small group of the Sound-nin surrounded Shino, all ready to strike at the first sign of Shino's movements. He simply stood there, with his hands in his coat pockets.

"I'll warn all of you to back away." Shino said calmly.

The Sound-nin didn't listen, they all moved towards him. When they reached an arm's length away, thay all suddenly began to cry in pain and drop to the floor. All over their body were insects, some crawling over their skin and some inside their clothes.

* * *

Lee spun around a delivered a heel kick to a Sound-nin. As this one fell to the ground unconscious from the hit, more came at the green clad shinobi. Lee darted forward, leaving only a blur of green behind him. As he passed by each of the Sound-nin that were running at him, they all stopped in their tracks and fell to the floor. Lee stood proudly over the fallen enemies.

Sakura fought off her portion of the Sound-nin by simply punching them and sending them flying at eachother, but wasn't going to be enough. She needed to do more than punch them away.

"Sakura-san!" Lee came running at Sakura, "Catch me!"

"What?" Sakura was confused as to why Lee was asking for something like this right now. Has he gone crazy? Why does he want a hug when they are in the middle of a battle.

Lee jumped and dived towards Sakura with his hands forward. In a reflex, Sakura reached out and grabbed Lee's hands. By now, she had no clue what to do, but Lee planned it out. With his body still off the ground, he thrusted himself to the side, forcing Sakura to spin on the spot while Lee's legs kicked at the Sound-nin around them both. Unable to hold on anymore, Sakura released her grip and Lee delivered one last kick to the face of one more Sound-nin.

"Nice plan." Sakura smiled.

"Arigato." Lee smiled back.

* * *

Yamato and Sai fended off against the Sound-nin in their area. Sai had his short sword out, while Yamato could only rely on ninjutsu. A group of the Sound-nin charged forward. Yamato prepared some hand seals and called forth a jutsu, "_Mokuton: Shichuurou no Jutsu_(Wood Release: Prison of Four Pillars Technique)!" A large amount of wood sprouted from the ground below and formed a cage that trapped the Sound-nin.

"I could have handled them Captain Yamato." Sai said.

"Well then, deal with those." Yamato pointed to the Sound-nin that were coming at the two from another side.

* * *

Guy and Kakashi fought off the Sound-nin with Guy attacking with an all out Taijutsu spree and Kakashi using his Sharingan to get the advantage over the fight.

"What do you say we make a bet on who can take out the most?" Guy asked with a smile. "The loser treats the winner to lunch when we return to Konoha."

"You really want to make a joke of things now?" Kakashi asked, not amused at all. He ducked and delivered an uppercut to a Sound-nin that tried to attempt an attack from behind.

Guy kicked away three Sound-nin that were charging from his left side, "I guess you're right." He spun around and slammed his swinging arm at a Sound-nin's face, knocking the ninja out cold.

Kakashi closed his eyes, "Guy, hold them off while I prepare for this."

Guy nodded as he stood closer to his rival, making sure he was protected for whatever he was preparing for. As the Sound-nin came towards the two, Guy beat them all back one by one. In time, Kakashi was finished and opened his eyes.

"I'm ready." His Sharingan eye was now transformed into the Mangekyou form. He turned his attention to the coming Sound-nins. Focusing his chakra, he unleashed his teachnique. With one spot in mind, a small vortex formed and everything around it swirled into the small spot. Fortunately for him, none of his allies were in the area to be affected by his Mangekyou. In a matter of seconds the vortex faded and the Sound-nins were all gone. Kakashi panted in relief, if he'd had used it three years ago, it would have taken him minutes to summon the vortex, let alone have the Mangekyou prepared in time. But with dedicated training, he was now able to have the portal ready in seconds.

Guy looked in amazement as the Sound-nins have disappeared from sight.

"So...Guy." Kakashi turned to the green clad jounin, "I guess you're treating me to lunch."

"AI!?" Guy stumbled in a dumbstruck reaction, "I thought we weren't going to bet."

* * *

Kiba and Reiko fought together with their canine companions, holding off against the Sound-nin.

"_Juujin Bunshin_(Beast/ Human Clone)!" Akamaru transformed into an exact copy of Kiba, but he wasn't ready yet, _"Jinjuu Konbi Henge: Soutourou_(Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double-headed Wolf)!" The two merged into one, changing into what the jutsu's name was; a double headed wolf.

While this beast charged off at the Sound-nin, Reiko and Kinara stayed on the lines of more simple things. Reiko sat on Kinara as the two charged at the Sound-nins. When they were at a close range, Reiko jumped off and pulled out two butterfly daggers. She landed right in the middle of the group and hacked away at them.

The two headed wolf stomped around, slamming at the Sound-nin. It wasn't long before one of them got smart and managed to attack from behind. The giant beast dtopped on its knees and changed back into Kiba and Akamaru. A Sound-nin ran up to them both and kicked Akamaru hard enough to send him dragging along the sand and to the wall of the village.

"Akamaru!" Kiba ran over to his side, dodging the blows from the Sound-nin while he ran. "Are you alright?" He paid too much attention to his companion that he didn't notice the Sound-nin that was about to kill him. The masked ninja had a sword in hand and ran towards the two.

"Kiba-kun!" Reiko tried to run over and help him, but the Sound-nin that she was battling prevented her from doing so.

Kiba looked over and saw how close the Sound-nin was. He knew no one was able to save him in the situation he was in now, Kankuro won't be able to save him with a puppet like last time. As the Sound-nin came closer for the kill, a sudden force threw him to the side and slamming onto the wall of the village border.

"What?"

In a rippling entrance, Naruto appeared, standing in front of Kiba, with his right hand was open and facing forward.

"Naruto!" Kiba was both surprised and glad to see Naruto standing in front of him.

"Kiba." Naruto kneeled by his side and checked for any wounds, "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Kiba answered, "Thanks for saving me."

"I couldn't leave a friend to die." Naruto said. He helped Kiba onto his feet. He looked ahead as the small group Sound-nin came rushing in. Naruto didn't have his katana, so he would have to rely on something else. One Sound-nin jumped up, trying to strike Naruto from above while the others attack straight on. Naruto threw his left hand up, which stopped the dropping Sound-nin in his tracks. While he stayed suspended in the air, Naruto picked off the others by pushing them away with his invisible force of energy. With them down, Naruto threw the floating Sound-nin away.

Behind him, another Sound-nin charged at Naruto, swinging his katana and ready to strike. Just as he came in reach, Kiba swiftly got in front and pierced him with his sais. Naruto quickly turned around and saw the Sound-nin grunting in pain, just before he fell to the floor. While he fell, Naruto grabbed a hold of the katana. "Not bad." He looked at the design of the sword. "This'll do."

The two looked as more Sound-nins came at them.

"There's just no end to them." Kiba said, "We can't take them all out."

"_Suton: __Sabaku Gufuu_(Sand Release: Desert Tornado)!" A sudden burst of sand shot up from the ground and began to spin rapidly, forming a large tornado. The Sound-nin in the area were sucked into the swirling sand and sent high up to the sky, only to drop back down, plummeting to their deaths.

"What was that?" Naruto asked. He looked up and saw Gaara slowly descending down from a cloud of sand.

"I'll deal with this." Gaara said. While the others joined with Naruto and Kiba, Gaara stood before them all, to make sure his jutsus did no harm to them.

"Ever since Gaara lost his _bijuu_, he lost a large portion of his ability to manipulate sand." Kakashi said, panting heavily as his Mangekyo Sharingan returned to its original form. "He trained himself into finding an alternative way to use sand, and this is how it paid off."

Naruto stared at Gaara in amazement. He's seen the highest level of power Gaara had, but a jutsu like that, it was something completely new to him.

"Like Yamato, Gaara has created a jutsu that breaks the boundaries of the five chakra elements." Kakashi said, "By combining Wind and Earth, he created the new elemental jutsu_ Suton_(Sand Release)"

The surviving Sound-nins all gathered and threw kunais at Gaara's direction.

"_Suna no Tate_(Shield of Sand)" The sand around Gaara rose up and formed a wall between him and the Sound-nins. The kunai pierced the walls and remained in place. When the sand settled, the kunais fell. The Sound-nin didn't show signs of retreating, so Gaara knew he had to dispose of them all. "_Ryuusa Bakuryuu._" The sand from beneath the Sound-nins' feet began to shake. Suddenly, they all found themselves being pulled down into the ground. With their feet immobalized, they were unable to jump free. In time, they were all trapped underneath the sand. With all of them buried, Gaara prepared for the final technique. He shot his hands to the sand, "_Sabuku Taisou!_" A large crushing sound of sand was heard, as well as the muffled scream of the Sound-nins trapped underneath.

From the distance, more Sound-nin came to the village, almost as if there was a whole country worth of ninjas.

"It seems our enemy has been producing an army." Gaara said as he saw the Sound-nins approuching, "It looks like we have a war."

* * *

**Don't worry, I promise that no one important will die in this battle.**

**If none of you haven't guessed by now, Naruto has some new abilities. He's got a form of telekinetic power, invisibility(that's untracable to the Byakugan, or Sharingan for that matter), and an issue with the Kyuubi.**

**If you're wondering why I gave Gaara the 'Sand Release' name, I assumed that he lost a chunk of his sand manipulation abilities so I thought 'He's a Kazekage, he should be strong enough to uphold that title.' So that was when I decided to say that he trained during the new timeskip in controling earth and wind element to make the new element of sand.**


	17. The Desert Wall

**Well, That was only a small portion of Gaara's new sand element jutsus. I'll have some more for this chapter.**

**Please remember to review.**

* * *

The Suna and Konoha shinobi all looked in the distance as the Sound-nin charged to the gates. There were still many Sound-nin near them, but they were easily handled.

"Everyone, deal with the enemies that are already here." Gaara ordered, "I'll deal with the ones that are approuching."

Before Gaara prepared for a jutsu, Naruto walked to his side, "_We'll_ deal with them."

Gaara smiled at Naruto's help. The two looked ahead, preparing a plan to handle the upcoming Sound-nins.

"We need to see what we're dealing with." Naruto said. He put his hands together for his favourite seal, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" A shadow clone appeared next to Naruto. The clone dashed off towards the enemy, getting closer and closer by the second. When he reached a close enough distance, he saw what they were dealing with. These Sound-nin were fully armored and armed with swords. Shocked by how strong these ninjas were, he didn't notice a Sound-nin attacked him straight on. Back with the original Naruto, he immedietly knew what the shadow clone witnessed, "They're armored."

"That's going to make things more difficult." Gaara said, "I need time to prepare enough sand for it."

"You don't need to use your sand to attack." Naruto said. "I have a plan. With the Oto-nin being armored, that eliminates their chances of being able to be stealthy. They're going to have to charge straight on."

"What do you suggest then?" Gaara asked.

While Naruto explained his plan to Gaara, the others took out the remaining Sound-nin in their area. Hinata had finally arrived on the scene, after realizing that Naruto must have already made it here.

"You missed out on alot Hinata." Kiba said, "Naruto sure knows how to mess around with them."

Hinata looked ahead and saw Naruto standing with Gaara, talking with him. "Naruto-kun..." She still wondered how he was able to disappear from her sight. A Hyuga has the power to see through the work of an invisibility jutsu, but Naruto managed to slip past that. Suddenly, Naruto appeared with a puff of smoke.

"Everyone, stay close." Naruto said. With that, he suddenly disappeared. Apparently it was a shadow clone.

Gaara put his hands together for a seal, "S_uton: Ishiheki no Jutsu_(Sand Release: Stone Wall Technique)" The sand around the village wall began to rise up to a higher level, slowly revealing the hard stone underneath. When the wall stopped moving, it was as high as the walls of the village. The entire village was surrounded by the wall, except for a small opening in which the shinobi stood in. The narrow passage was as large as the gateway into the village and tall enough to make sure no Sound-nin could jump or scale over it.

The Sound-nin came to a sudden stop as they arrived several feet away. From the army, one walked forward.

"Give up the jinchuruuki!" The Sound-nin called out, "Give up the Uzumaki boy, and we may spare your village."

Hinata looked at Naruto in worry. These Sound-nin wanted Naruto and they were planning on destroying the village to get to him.

"You want me?" Naruto asked. He put his hands together for his cloning seal, "Then come and get me! _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" The exit of the narrow path was blocked off by several hundred shadow clones of Naruto, each of them holding a katana. "You know what to do Gaara."

Gaara nodded. He waved his hands up, which caused the sand to rise, forming a thin wall in front of the Naruto clones. In a matter of seconds, the Sound-nins reached the wall and pushed through.

"Don't hold back!" one of them yelled, "Keep pushing!"

"Stand back guys!" Naruto called out. all the shadow clones raised their left hands forward, opening their palms. A sudden blast broke through the sand wall and blinded the Sound-nin. Using this oppurtunity, the Naruto clones thrusted their blades forward, stabbing the Sound-nin in the front line. "Back up!" the clones stepped back, and another sand wall formed in front of them. The Sound-nin charged forward again, attempting to break through. Another blast from the Naruto clones broke through the sand wall and they stabbed at the Sound-nin, backing away in time for yet another sand wall to form. This repeated cycle of breaking the wall, attacking, retreating, defending went on for several more times, until the Sound-nin knew this was a lost cause. They backed away and tried to find a new strategy.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto walked into the room Orochimaru was in. "An Oto-nin just came back from Suna, things aren't looking well for us."

"It seems we need a more pursuasive method." Orochimaru said, "Get the two Konoha shinobi. I think their friends might want to see them."

"And what about Naikito?" Kabuto asked.

"Bring him too." Orochimaru answered, "I think its time to see how he is against our enemies."

* * *

Tenten groaned in pain as she tried to stretch her legs. She was relieved that both her and Neji were no longer chained up, but it was what happened after. After Neji had confessed everything; telling them of where they were going, why they were going there, and about Naruto, Kabuto had the Sound-nin torture them more in case the two had anymore information to tell. Neji was strong enough to manage through the pain, but Tenten felt as if she received a more horrid torutre than he did.

"Tenten, are you alright?" Neji slowly crawled over to her side.

"Yeah..." Tenten cringed in pain as she brought her legs closer to her chest. She shivered slightly from the cold cell the two were in. "Why did you do it? Why did you tell them?"

"I...I couldn't let you get hurt." Neji answered. When he tried to move again, he made a wrong move and ended up pushing on a cut on his knee.

"You didn't have to do it for me." Tenten said. Despite being in pain, she was upset of what Neji did.

"They were going to kill you." Neji said, remembering how Kabuto was planning to kill her if Neji didn't talk, "I couldn't let him do it. I would have given my life up to keep you alive."

Tenten's eyes widened and she gasped softly. "Really?" Tenten was visibly touched by his words. She sneezed when the cold started to get to her.

"You're getting cold Tenten." Neji crawled closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to him, warming her with his own body heat.

Tenten didn't say anything, she simply smiled and relaxed in the warmth of Neji's embrace. The doors to their cell opened and Kabuto stood there with two other Sound-nin.

"We have a little walking to do." Kabuto said.

* * *

With the sandwall still high up, the Sound-nin could only go through the the narrow path that was being blocked by Naruto and his shadow clones.

"Take 'em out!" Naruto called out. Most of his shadow clones charged forward and made their way to the Sound-nin. The remaining group stayed behind to stay on defense if any Sound-nin got past the first wave.

"I'm losing clones quite quickly." Naruto said to Gaara. "These guys are tough. Thier armor is made of some strong metal and their swords are almost twice as strong as a regular one."

"I'm sure my sand can deal with them." Gaara said, "But I'll need time to get a proper jutsu ready."

"Got it." Naruto said. He looked back to the Sound-nin and saw that his clones were now much more few, and that some of the enemies were coming towards them, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" More shadow clones formed and they charged forward to block out the Sound-nin.

"Wait up Naruto!" Kiba and Akamaru ran ahead to join the blonde shinobi, with Reiko and Kinara with them.

While the rest of the clones went off, the real Naruto stayed behind to defend Gaara. A few Sound-nins broke through the defense and one jumped up to attack Gaara.

"Look out!" Naruto jumped up and delivered a kick to the Sound-nin's face, sending him to the wall and knocked out.

Naruto landed and looked over to Gaara to see if he was hurt, fortunately, he wasn't. The sigh of relief Naruto gave made him lose sight of the Sound-nin that was behind him.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran towards him and thrusted a palm at the chest of the attacker.

Nauto turned back and saw the Sound-nin fall to the ground. He looked to Hinata and smiled, "Thanks." Hinata returned a smile to him. "Gaara, are you ready?"

"Yes, I am. Tell your friends to retreat Naruto." Gaara answered.

* * *

On the battleground, Kiba, Reiko, their canine companions fended off the Sound-nin along with Naruto's clones. One of the clones faced the two shinobi.

"Get back." He said, "Gaara's got an attack ready."

"I'm not gonna wait for it." Kiba said, "Come on Reiko." He grabbed her hand and the two ran back to the narrow passage of the sand wall. Akamaru and Kinara followed them. While they ran back, the clones did their best to make sure they got back safely. "We made it."

"Now Gaara." Naruto called out.

"_Suna Shigure_(Sand Drizzle)." A large cloud of sand flew up to the sky, hovering over the battleground. All the Sound-nin looked up at what was covering the sun. The cloud then dispersed into sharp pellets of sand that fell down towards them.

The shadow clones dispersed into clouds of smoke when the sand hit them, but the large portion of the Sound-nins were unharmed by the attack.

"This isn't looking good." Naruto said, "We need something more." He made another seal and dispersed more shadow clones that ran forward to defend Gaara.

"Give me more time." Gaara said, "This needs time to prepare." He put his hands together for a seal, prepaing for one more attack.

"Here they come." Naruto stared down the Sound-nin that was coming towards him. As the enemy came closer, Naruto prepared an attack, with his right hand holding a swirl of chakra. "_Rasengan_!" He thrusted his hand forward and the Sound-nin was sent spiraling back and colliding into other Sound-nin.

Hinata watched in amazement of how strong Naruto had become. He was indeed the same person that Hinata had tried to impress for so many times. It was time that she show him that she was just as powerful. "_Suiton: Kouzui Mizuumi no Jutsu_(Water Release: Lake Flood Technique)!" Hinata spewed out a large jet of water into the sky, which gathered to form a large bubble of water. When the jet of water was done, the giant bubble fell to the ground and landed on the sand, with the Sound-nin in the vincity. The Sound-nin that were in the attack were now trapped in a large quicksand that was slowly sinking them down.

"Wow." Naruto smiled at Hinata from her amazing technique.

"It won't last long." Hinata said, "They can still get out of the mud."

Naruto quickly turned to Kakashi, "Sensei, do something about it."

Kakashi kicked down a Sound-nin and turned to Naruto. "That quicksand is too big for me to handle." As another Sound-nin came from behind, Yamato hit him down.

"Then let me help Kakashi-senpai." He said, "I know which jutsu to use."

"Alright then." Kakashi said, "Gai, keep them off of us."

"Got it." Gai said. As the Sound-nin came at them, Gai kicked them all away with his powerful legs.

"Now!" Kakashi commanded.

"_Doton: Doryuuheki_(Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)." Kakashi flashed his mask open to spew out the large mud while Yamato spewed mud of his won, which covered the quicksand and instantly hardened.

"Done." Yaamto smiled in success.

Naruto looked ahead and saw the other Sound-nin charging. "Um, Gaara?"

"It's done." He raised his hands and a large collection of sand rose up to the sky. "_Suton: Yari Ame no Jutsu_(Sand Release: Spear Rain Technique)." All the sand that was gathered in the sky scattered into spears that rained down on the Sound-nin. Even with the armor, the sand spears pierced through and pinned them all down.

"Great one Gaara." Naruto said, "But we still have a lot more to deal with."

"Orochimaru sure is persistant." Kakashi said.

* * *

"Sasuke, we've been walking all over the place." Suigetsu complained, "Where are we going?"

"To every place that has any clue of Itachi." Sasuke answered, "I'm not giving up until we find him."

Team Snake was now walking through a barren land of stone. Everything around them was nothing but the color of the rocks that made up the landscape.

"We've stopped at so many different places. Why not just take a day to rest." Suigetsu asked.

"Well, if you'd just leave that sword behind, you wouldn't be complaining." Karin said with a evil glare at the boy.

"Fine." Sasuke said, "Well rest here for the night."

Sighing deeply in relief, Suigetsu sat on the ground and rested on his back.

* * *

The door to Naikito's room opened and Orochimaru was surprised to find that the entire room was filled with hardened lava. "Well, I can see you've been busy."

"This is incredible." Naikito said, "Oh, how I wish I had this before I was defeated by that boy."

"Well, you can have the chance to test it." Orochimaru said, getting the attention of him, "We are on our way to Suna, the boy you speak of is there and I intend to capture him. You can test your skills out there. When I'm done with the boy, you can kill him in any way you desire."

Naikito smiled as he walked out of the room and into the hallway of Orochimaru's secret lair.

"Your armor is in my chamber." Orochimaru said, "I had Kabuto bring them to where we are to meet."

The two walked through the hall, making many different turns and going through many doors. They were finally out and into the sunlight, where Kabuto was waiting for them, along with several Sound-nin, with Neji and Tenten, bound and gagged.

"Did you bring it?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes I did, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto steped to the side and showed Naikito's armor, which was behind him.

* * *

"We're gonna need something different if we plan to take them out now." Naruto said, "For an army that large, we need something that can wipe them all out easily."

"What do you suggest?" Gaara asked.

"I'm not suggesting anything." Naruto answered, "I was hoping you had something in mind."

While the two stood before the reamining army of the Sound-nin, the others behind were worried of the upcoming doom. Hinata stayed by Naruto's side as she watched the entire army draw closer to the village.

"Wait." Gaara suddenly had a thought, "Isn't there something that once destroyed an entire army?" Gaara asked, refering back to his history, "A youma once attacked a village and nearly annihilated the entire population."

"Yeah." Naruto answered, "What are you saying?"

"Prehaps a youma is what we need." Gaara said, "I have an idea, but I don't have the amount of chakra to do it." Gaara turned to Naruto, "I'll need your help. If we can do this right, we can have a strong _Konbi Henge_(Combination Transformation)."

"You sure?" Naruto asked.

"All I need is your chakra. I will do the seals and make the transformation." Gaara said. He extended a hand, offering it to Naruto, "You ready?"

Naruto looked over to Hinata." You'll have to go back to the others."

"Be careful Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"Hey, you know me." Naruto smiled, "I can make it through anything."

Hinata smiled back at him and turned to run back to her other teammates. Naruto and Gaara stood alone as they faced their enemies. Naruto placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder as Gaara put his hands together for the seal.

"Hope you have something big and dangerous in mind." Naruto said, "Cause big and dangerous is what we need."

"Just give me your chakra." Gaara said.

Naruto concentrated as he poured his chakra into Gaara's system. Gaara felt the sudden rush of an extra boost, it was more than enough for the transformation. With this amount, he could probably do something better than he planned. He pictured the transformation in his mind; something with a dangerous appearance, with claws, teeth, and deadly attacks. He then pictured it to be bigger, much bigger than what he originally planned on.

"Ready?" Gaara asked.

"Ready." Naruto nodded.

"_Henge_!" The two shinobi closed their eyes as they disappeared in a large cloud of smoke.

Everyone who witnessed the appearance of the cloud saw that it suddenly began to grow in size, not stopping until it reached a size that was almost impossible to measure. Even the Sound-nin stopped in their tracks to see what had just happened. From the cloud of smoke, a large sand colored tail whipped out, swinging around as the smoke slowly faded. From where Naruto and Gaara stood, a large creature on four legs took their place. This large animal had fur that seemed to be made of the very stand it stood on, and its tail looked as though it was made of large scales of sand. Small streaks of blue were all over the body and all over the ears.

"Sugoi..." Sakura looked in amazement at what was standing there.

"It can't be." Temari looked at the massive beast.

"The Shukaku." Kakashi instantly recognized the appearance of the monster.

The giant monster swung its one tail around as it stared down at the Sound-nin. They all looked up as the large racoon was blocking their path to the village. This was nothing compared to the real monster, but they would be having difficulty handling this the same way.

* * *

**I'm am sorry for the long wait, but school is being such a bxxxt.**

**I also realised that I have other stories to worry about, so updates might not come so quickly as before.**

**Once again, if you have any questions about the story, or if you notice any errors in these chapters, please let me know.**


	18. Five and Six

**Sorry for the long update. But exams are on their way I have to study before I disappear from the face of my home for the holidays.

* * *

**

The giant beast swung its tail around as the Sound-nin were now blocked passage through the narrow passage. The beast clawed away at the Sound-nin that were closest and they all flew up to the sky and dropped back down to their doom.

"Everyone, deal with the ones that make it past them." Kakashi ordered.

While the giant monster blocked off the passage to the village, some Sound-nin managed to get through, but the gate was still protected by the Suna and Konoha shinobi.

The sound-nin attempted to try and get past the Shukaku, but the beast noticed them immedietly and crshed them all in its giant paws.

* * *

Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito arrived at the scene of the battle. Neji and Tenten were bound to prevent them from ever trying to run. 

"My god..." Naikito stared beyond the horizon to witness what was there.

"Hmm... the Shukaku." Orochimaru smiled.

"How can that be?" Kabuto asked, "How can that beast still be roaming around the world?"

"Because its not." Orochimaru answered, "Its a combination transformation with the Kazekage and that Uzumaki."

They saw how their Sound-nin were not making much progress in breaking into the Suna. Orochimaru was disgusted at how poorly things were going.

"Must I do things on my own?" Orochimaru bit into his thumb and blood began to drip out. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!" A large burst of sand threw of into the air, attracting the attention of everone.

While the Shukaku beast crushed some more Sound-nin with its large paws, it looked up and aw the large sand burst. When the sand faded, a large snake appeared. This snake was brown in color, not really matching the sand, but close. Instead of having a tail, this snake had another head in its place. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito stood upon one of the snake's head.

"A summoning?" Naikito looked in surprise, "Orochimaru is indeed powerful."

"It's Orochimaru-_sama_." Kabuto corrected him, "Show him the respect he deserves."

"This isn't good." Kakashi said. He ran towards the Shukaku and jumped up, landing on it's head, "Naruto, Kazekage-sama, we'll deal with the Sound-nin, you two deal with Orochimaru." With that said, he jumped off and returned to the others.

The Shukaku waited as the two headed snake lunged forward. The first head openedits mouth and revealed its fangs. The Shukaku grabbed the head and pinned it down on the ground, holding it with one hand. It used its other hand to claw at the reptile. The second head lunged forward, biting at the Shukaku's shoulder, forcing the one-tailed beast to release its grip on the snake head. The snake then wrapped itself around the beast, squeezing hard and binding it until the beast was unable to move.

"Typical of you." Orochimaru smirked, "I can't expect any surprises from you in this state."

The snake squeezed harder and harder, until the Shukaku suddenly disappeared in a large puff of smoke. From the smoke, Naruto and Gaara dropped to the sand and made their way back to the group, avoiding the constriction of the snake.

"Are you guys alright?" Sakura asked.

Gaara had his arm over Naruto's shoulders, being lifted up as Naruto carried him back. While Naruto held onto Gaara with one arm, he was holding his rib with his other arm. When the two were closer, Naruto gently put Gaara down on the sand.

"I'll be fine." Naruto said, "But check on Gaara."

Sakura kneeled by Gaara to see check for any wounds. When she found them, she immedietly healed them.

"How's everyone here?" Naruto asked, "Is everyone ok?"

"We're fine." Kakashi answered.

"Naruto, let me look at that." Ino removed Naruto's hand from his rib. She saw that there was blood staining his shirt, though it was hard to notice with the black shirt.

"It's alright, I'm fine." Naruto said. He immedietly noticed something off place. He quickly reached up for his blindfold and put it in proper place.

* * *

The snake disappeared and Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito jumped off, landing on the sand, before the shinobi. 

"Neji-san." Hinata saw that Neji and Tenten were bound and in the grasps of Kabuto and Naikito.

"Let them go." Guy demanded, "I will not have you harm my students anymore."

"Then why don't you take them from us?" He tossed Tenten aside and put his hands together for a jutsu seal. "_Yougan Bunshin no Jutsu_(Lava Clone Technique)." Streams of lava began to flow off of Naikito and form puddles around him. A total of three puddles of lava were formed and each of them slowly rose up and took form of a figure with arms, legs, and a head.

Sakura charged at one of the four Naikitos and landed a punch at them. She ended up hitting a clone as the body slowly changed back into lava, but splattered. The bits of the magma landed on Sakura's arm and burned her.

"Ahh!!" Sakura grabbed her arm in pain from the intense burn.

"Watch out!" Kakashi said to the others, the clones splatter into lava.

Sakura used her healing jutsu and removed the scaring burn on her skin, which faded away in seconds.

"Are you alrigt Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sakura answered. Her hands stopped glowing as she was now done healing herself. "I guess I got a little too careless."

The Konoha ninjas, along with the sand siblings took their stance against Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito. What they saw was that the remains of the eliminated clones re-emerged into two seperate clones.

"We'll have to find some way to get rid of those lava clones." Yamato said, "My wood is weak against fire."

Sai pulled out a sheet from his gauntlet and took out a brush. He quickly filled the pages with pictures of six identical lions. "_Choujuu Giga_." The lions on the scroll pulled themselves out of the paper and grew into a life size lion. They all charged at the Naiktio clones, but ewven these ink made beast weren't enough.

"_Yougan Karada_!(Lava Body)!" Each of the clones of Naikito suddenly changed back into bodies of lava. When the ink made lions attacked, the burning layer of lava melted the ink away. Once the last beast was gone, the bodies changed back into identical clones of the original.

"Wait, I've got a plan." Naruto said. He turned to Hinata for this, "You can make water clones right?"

"Yes." Hinata answered.

"Then work with me on this." Naruto put his hands together for his cloning seal. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Aside from the original, there were now two Narutos.

Hinata made her hands seals and followed with him, "_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Hinata then waved her hands in front of her, gathering two orbs of water in her hands. She then threw them on the groun next to her and the water orbs took form of clones.

"Naruto what do you plan to do?" Kakashi asked.

"You said I can gain the experience that my shadow clones gain." Naruto said, remembering what he learned those years ago from his former teacher, "Hinata's water clones can do the same."

"Really?" Hinata asked, surprised.

"You didn't tell her?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't think it was important." Kakashi answered, "I didn't think she would use her clones for whatever you would do."

Naruto sighed and looked back at Hinata, "Well, now that you know, follow me." The two Naruto clones ran ahead towards their enemies, "Leave your original behind."

Hinata's water clones followed Naruto's clones. The four of them charged at Naikito and his clones. The first Naruto clone brought out a hand and a swirl of chakra appeared in the hand. The second clone put his hands on the orb and swirled some of the wind element into it. While this was happening, Hinata gathered some water into her hands, forming a ball of water. She formed the ball into what appeared to be a four pointed star.

Naruto thrusted his hand forward, hitting his opponent with his orb, "_Fuuton: Rasengan_!"

Hinata threw her water at her opponent, "_Mizu Shuriken_(Water Shuriken)!"

The attacks hit the lava clones. Naruto's attack left a large hole in the clone's chest and Hinata's shuriken made several small holes all over the body.

"You think that would do anything to me clones?" Naikto asked. "_Yougan Dan no Jutsu_(Lava Bullet Technique)." Naikito and his clones spewed out several lava pellets and hit Naruto and Hinata's clones. the clones disappeared from sight once they were hit.

Back with the other shinobi, Naruto and Hinata instantly gained some knowledge of what happened.

"Well?" Lee asked.

"Well for starters, that lava burns." Naruto said, understanding how his clones suffered from the pain, "But I think I have a plan." He turned to his teammates, "Kakashi-sensei, I need you to be with Hinata for this, since you know some water techniques too. Fuzzy Brows, you and Guy-sensei be ready to pull anyone out if something goes wrong. Everyone else, provide a distraction while I bring the plan into motion."

* * *

"What are they doing?" Kabuto asked. 

Suddenly, the small group of shinobi scattered, running around the desert sand.

"_Yougan Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Naikito brought out more clones preparing for anything that was going to happen.

Kiba, Akamaru, Reiko, Kinara, and one of Naruto's clones ran together, throwing shuriken and kunai at Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito. The lava clones defended them, and started to mulitply from the splattered puddles of lava.

Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, and another one of Naruto's clones ran together in their own group and did the same; throwing weapons at them. While this distraction was taking place, Sakura and Ino stood with Lee and Guy, watching to see if something goes wrong. Lee and Guy had their leg weights off, needing to rely on their highest speed to keep the plan in motion. With their enemy distracted, Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi prepared for the real attack.

"Are you sure this will work?" Kakashi asked.

"You're just gonna have to trust me." Naruto said, "Can you do that?"

"I trust you Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"If she can trust you, then so will I." Kakashi answered.

* * *

While the distration was still taking place, one of Naikito's clones charged at one of the groups. He charged at Shikamaru, landing a lava bullet at his ankle. He fell down on the sand, with a large thump. 

"Hurry!" Sakura instructed to Lee and Guy.

In a flash, the two disappeared from sight and reappeared by Shikamaru's side. They picked him up and darted back to Sakura and Ino. Sakura used her medical jutsu and healed the burn on Shikamaru's ankle.

When one of the clones decided to try and find a way out, Gaara's sand techniques prevented him from leaving. Temari and Kankuro joined in the distraction, providing Lee and Guy cover if there was any trouble.

Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi were now ready to move on with the plan.

"Let's do this." Naruto said. The shadow clone with the three disappeared. This gave the other clones the signal. Each of them told the others to head back, for the plan was moving on.

"What's happening now?" Kabuto asked, "Their running away."

"Maybe they gave up." Naikito guessed.

From behind them, Hinata and Kakashi ran towards them, making hands seals and unleashing their jutsu. "_Suirou no Jutsu_(Water Prison Technique)!" With Hinata's water gathering ability, Kakashi was able to use her supply and the spheres of water. They launched the spheres forward, trapping all of Naikito's clones.

"This won't last long." Kakashi said, "Naruto, you better hurry with this."

"I know!" Naruto ran forward. While the lava clones were still trapped temporarily in the water spheres, Naruto unleashed his attack. "_Fuuton: Touketsu Toppuu_(Wind Release: Freezing Gust)!" Naruto inhaled deeply and blew out a large gust of wind. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito covered their eyes from the sand that was picked up by the wind.

"The wind, its so cold." Kabuto noted.

The water spheres slowly began to freeze up from the cold wind, turning to spheres of ice. Within the next thirty seconds, the spheres were completely frozen. Naruto then summon more clones, all of them already preparing a Rasengan in one hand. Each clone charge at the spheres and shattered them with their attack.

"I must say, boy, you've improved." Orochimaru smirked.

Everyone gathered with Naruto, surrounding Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Naikito. Neji and Tenten were still bound, but unharmed.

"You better let them go." Naruto said, calling off his clones.

"Or what, boy?" Orochimaru asked, "You're going to kill me?"

"Sasuke was able to kill you once." Sakura said, "Who's to say that Naruto can't?"

"Let's not forget that it was me who made him into the strong shinobi he is now." Orochimaru grinned, "And its because of me that you will never feel the satisfaction of being poweful, because you will always be second to him."

Naruto's eyes glared at Orochimaru. Everytime he's heard him mention Sasuke's name, it made him angry. But to insult him and mention Sasuke like this went too far. His eyes immedietly changed into being blood red, his pupils, iris, everything. Red was all that anyone could see in his eyes now. With one deep inhale, Naruto released a large roar that was followed by a giant shockwave.

Everyone in the area was thrown back by the force and fell several feet away from Naruto.

Gaara was thrown back from the giant force, but he produced a platfom of sand to catch him and gently place him back on the ground. Everyone stared with terrified epressions when they gazed upon the new monster that was now created.

Naruto was now completely consumed by the demon fox, the chakra covered his entire body and formed the many tails, but there were now five of them. His canines have increased and his face resembled more of a fox's face. His eyes showed no life in them, but it was clear that there was life in this being. The monster roared loudly at the Sound-nin.

"Naruto..." Sakura looked at Naruto, _Its happening again._

Images flashed in the minds of all who once witnessed the power of the Kyuubi taking form over Naruto. From the start, Naruto was merely covered by a shield of chakra that simply increased his strength. Then came the time his chakra actually took shape into something other than just a mere cloud of chakra; his one-tailed state. There was the time when Kakashi witnessed Naruto give into the form of the two-tailed form, when they were rescuing Gaara and Deidara escaped from Naruto's wrath. After that, Kakashi's team witnessed Naruto being cloaked in the three-tailed form, being more violent than ever. It wasn't long during that incident that Naruto was taken over by the fourth chakra tail. No one was able to recognize him at that state, for there was no sign of humanity in that form.

But this, this was something that made the other stages less threatening.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata couldn't believe what was before her. Naruto has now faded away under the exterior of this demon. "Naruto-kun!" She ran forward to hopefully try and get Naruto back.

"Hinata, don't!" Sakura grabbed her left wrist and pulled her back.

"Let me go!" Hinata yelled.

"Don't do this." Sakura said, "His mind isn't his own. He can't tell the difference between his friends or his enemies. He could hurt you or...even kill you."

"Stop him!" Orochimaru yelled. For the first time, he showed an expression of worry, something that wasn't too common from him.

Naikito put his hands together for a seal. "_Yougan Dan no Jutsu_(Lava Bullet Technique)." Naikito spat out small pellets of lava that flew towards the five-tailed monster.

The small demon still ran forward, acting as if the bullets of lava didn't harm him. Each time it pressed it's paws on the sand, te dirt kicked up and sizzled away into a substance smaller than a grain of sand.

"Y_ouganton: Chinbotsu Toku no Jutsu_(Lava Release: Sinking Floor Technique)." Naikito slammed his palms on the desert ground. As the raging fox made one more pounce, the ground beneath it shifted and slowly began to steam up. In a matter of time, the sand melted into lava and slowly sucked in the fox. The little demon tried to force itself out, but the flow of the lava kept it in and eventually forced it under the intense heat of molten earth. "That should hold him."

While the lava pool bubbled around, small ripples began to appear. A sudden burst from the pool emerged and the demon fox was now standing over the lava surface. A sudden roar from the monster had everyone realize that it was now very angry. With one more roar, the chakra around it began to run through him rapidly. The coating around the fox was no longer a dark shade of blood, but now it was in a shade of a dark orange. The tips the 'ears' were tinted black and the beast showed visible lips on the mouth.

"Oh no..." Kakashi was now terrified of what he was witnessing.

"What's happening?" Lee asked.

Kakashi didn't answer. His face was now pale from the sight of his former student who was now going through a raging transformation.

"Kakashi, what's happening?" Guy asked.

"Naruto is..." Kakashi didn't know how to say this without putting the same shock into anyone, "He's losing himself."

Sakura and Hinata looked in shock when they saw that Naruto was now changing even more into the very monster he was in a past life. Within the five tails of chakra, a sixth one slowly formed.

"A sixth tail?" Yamato looked in complete shock. "He looks more like the Kyuubi than before."

"My my my, the boy sure has changed." Orochimaru grinned in amusement, "Going as far as producing another two tails since the last time we met." Orochimaru never forgot the time when he witnessed the might of Naruto's four-tailed state. He remembered how his many tricks weren't enough for the boy.

"Well, maybe this might give him a chance against Sasuke." Kabuto commented.

The sound of Sasuke's name made the beast twitch at the ears. It then turned towards the three and snarled.

"Don't taunt it." Naikito said, "If there's one thing I know about wild animals, its to never taunt them."

"Well then I suppose it's a good thing this isn't an animal." Kabuto simply remarked, ignoring the warning of Naikito. "This might even give Sasuke a small chill down his spine." Kabuto remained completely oblivious to the deadly glare that the monster was giving. If he had seen it, he would have known sooner that taunting him was his last mistake.

The beast charged at the three at a speed so incrediably fast that that only trace of its movement was the sand that was in the air from the feet. It threw it's front claws forward, ready to strike at the three.

"_Youganton: Bougyo Kabe_(Lava Release: Defensive Wall)!" Naikito summoned a large wall of lava from the palm of his hands, seperating the beast from the three.

That didn't stop the beast. It simply broke through the lava wall as if it was simply a paper wall. It's claws reached Kabuto and the two were thrown back from the force. The large amounts of sand that was forming around them hid the horrible sight of the slaughter. All that was known was the sound of the monster growling and the painful scream of Kabuto.

The shinobi protecting Suna looked in shock when the sound of Kabuto's scream died down. When the sand clouds finally settled, the beast was crouched over the bloody corpse of Orochimaru's loyal servant. His throat was ripped open with blood still flowing out, his clothes were slashed and stained in blood with many of them being large cuts that even the world's best medical-nin could not heal. His eyes no longer had life in them, it appeared as if he was staring off beyond the sky, to thw afterlife of where he was to be.

"That is a shame." Orochimaru said, "He was a loyal one." The beast then turned towards him and Naikito, "Come, our business is done for now." He grabbed Naikito's shoulder and the two slowly sunk into the sand, but not directly into the sand, for a small patch that was Orochimaru's shadow was what swallowed the two.

The beast growled in defeat when it's next two preys were now gone. It then noticed that the bound prisoners were still left. Neji and Tenten stared at the six tailed beast in horror, struggling to break free and hopefully escape.

"No...Neji! Tenten!" Lee knew very well what the beast's intentions were.

Yamato immedietly threw his hands together and performed his seals. From beneath the sand, large roots in the form of dragons emerged and darted at the beast, but the speed of this monster was too fast. Each of the dragon roots attempted to try and bite at the monster, but each of them missed.

"Do something!" Kakashi yelled to Yamato.

"I can't!" Yamato yelled back, "He's moving too fast, I can't catch him."

Everyone stared in fear when the beast that was once Naruto stared at Neji and Tenten. With their hands and feet bound, they couldn't escape from the monster's wrath.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran towards him, not caring of the danger she would face. "Naruto-kun, please stop!"

The beast turned to Hinata, roaring at her when his eyes gazed upon her. The loud roar made Hinata stop in her tracks. The beast hunched his shoulders and got as low as possible to the sandy surface below.

"Naruto-kun?" She couldn't recognize anything about Naruto in this monster, "What did you do to him?"

The beast only responded by snarling at Hinata. Hinata realized that simply talking to it won't do anything. She ran at the fox and threw her arms around it.

"I want Naruto-kun back! Give him back!" The chakra coming from the fox's body began to burn at Hinata's cloths and skin, but she didn't stop. She began to cry from the pain of the burning as well as from the pain of losing Naruto, "I want Naruto-kun back, let him go!"

The beast then emited a large shockwave from his roar which forced Hinata off of him. Neji and Tenten were thrown back by the wave, but the others were at a safe distance. The monster slowly crawled up to Hinata, who was now scarred with small burns, and her clothes were patrially burnt off.

"He's going to kill her!" Sakura yelled. She turned to Yamato, "Do something, please!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Yamato asked, "I can't use my jutsu, he's too fast."

The beast jumped up and dived down towards Hinata, claws out and teeth showing.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji yelled.

"_Sabaku Kyuu_(Desert Coffin)." Gaara summoned a large amount of sand to catch the monster before it reached Hinata.

The beast's roar was muffled from the sand and was also limited in moving. Everyone watched as the lump of sand was still suspended in the air and several bumps began to pop around the place, no doubt being the monster trying to break out.

Gaara then put his hands together for another seal, one that everyone knew too well.

"Wait." Sakura recognized the seal. "Gaara, don't!"

"Stop!" Kiba yelled.

"_Sabaku Sousou_(Desert Funeral)." The large sand immedietly shrank to a slightly smaller size. This was when they heard the sound of the beast roaring in pain and small traces of blood dripping out of the sand.

"Naruto!" Sakura ran towards he sand clump, towards Hinata, as well as to where Neji and Tenten were.

As the last bit of sand came off of the beast, Yamato summoned the roots once more. They all sped towards the monster faster than Sakura and grabbed ahold of the beast, one biting each tail and the remaining roots binding the body.

"_Hokage Shiki Jijun Jutsu: Kakuan Nitten Suishu_(Hokage-Style Sixty-year-old Technique: Enclosed Hermitage Return to Society)!" Yamato released his jutsu, forcing the chakra to drain away from Naruto's body and finally revealing the boy underneath. Once the last bit of the blood stained chakra faded, the roots all retracted and Naruto fell to the sand.

Everyone arrived to where Naruto was and waited for him to wake up. After several seconds, Naruto gasped for air and shot himself up to a sitting position.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata

"I'm alright." Naruto panted out, "I'm not hurt, not anymore."

* * *

**Well, glad that's done with.**

**I was originally planning to make this chapter longer, but if I did, it would have been a good four chapters long, and I wanted to move one with the plot.**

**Naruto and his newly discovered five-tail and six-tail state will add on to what I plan to do in the later chapters.**

**Please be patient with the updates and please review.**


	19. Back Home

**I just noticed that I made a mistake in the second chapter. Chiyo is that old lady that resurrected Gaara, Choji is that fat dude. I accidently misplaced them both. Well now its fixed.**

**If you come across any other mistakes in the story, please let me know.**

**And as always, please review.

* * *

**

With the short-lived war now over, the injured shinobi were taken to the medical facility while the dead were gathered to be prepared for a burial. Sakura and Ino offered their help to tend to the wounded, while the others took a rest from the battle.

Sakura went to Naruto's room to check up on him. As she opened the door to his room, she stopped suddenly when Naruto stood in the middle of the room with no shirt or pants on, just his boxers.

"Aaahh!" Naruto instantly disappeared from sight, fading away to hide himself.

"Oh god." Sakura turned away and shielded her eyes, "Naruto, I'm so sorry." She looked back and saw that Naruto was gone, "Naruto?"

"You could've knocked." Naruto's voice said from the emptiness of the room. Sakura knew he was still in the room, since she was able to hear footsteps coming from inside.

"I'm sorry, but I was just in a rush to make sure you were alright." Sakura said. She was amazed at Naruto's invisibility technique when she saw Naruto's hospital clothes float up and instantly disappear. She then heard the sound of the clothes rustling and other sounds that a person would make when putting of clothes. After a few seconds, Naruto reappeared. "So, you ready for me to take a look at you?"

"Was putting my clothes back on a waste of time?" Naruto asked, wondeirng if he had to remove his clothes again.

"No, no. I just need to get some x-rays of you." Sakura said, "If everything is alright, you can leave right away."

"Alright." Naruto smiled.

* * *

The Konoha shinobi gathered before Gaara in his office. While Gaara sat behind his desk, Temari and Kankuro stood on opposite ends of his seat.

"I cannot thank you enough for your help yesterday." Gaara said, "Our village is in your debt."

"That's what allies are for." Naruto smiled, "They help you when you need it."

"I guess you're right." Gaara smiled back, "I assume that you carry your bags, because you plan to leave today."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama is going to want to know about this." Sakura answered.

"Very well then." Gaara stood up from his seat, "I thank you again for your help." His eyes then turned to Naruto, "Naruto, I really hope to see you again sometime soon."

"I hope so too." Naruto smiled.

The Konoha shinobi all headed out the door, leaving the office and on their way to the gate that would lead them back home. After walking a short distance, Shikamaru suddenly arrived.

"Where have you been?" Choji asked.

"I got held up at the Kazekage's office." Shikamaru answered.

"What did he want with you?" Sakura asked.

"...uh...well..." Shikamaru's eyes rolled around, thinking of what to say.

"Wait a minute." Naruto walked up to Shikamaru and looked closely at his face. "I see it." He rubbed his finger on Shikamaru's neck and showed everyone else what smudged on his fingertips. "Looks like lipstick."

"Oh my god, did Temari..." Ino stared at Shikamaru in complete surprise.

"Dude, what was she kissing your neck for?" Kiba asked.

"Can we talk about this some other time?" Shikamaru asked, "Asnwering all these questions right now is too bothersome."

The shinobis simply laughed as they walked together, heading back home.

* * *

At the gates, Kakashi, Guy, Yamato, Sai, Neji, and Tenten were waiting. Naji had Tenten in his arms as she was apparently unconscious.

"Sorry, did we keep you guys waiting?" Shikamaru asked.

"How's Tenten?" Lee asked, seeing her unconscious.

"Tsunade-samas the only one who can deal with someone of Tenten's condition." Kakashi answered, "Which is why we need to leave right now."

"Then let's go." Naruto said.

* * *

Konoha was empty. Naruto was the only one there, standing alone, looking around for anyone else. He knew this moment from another time. When he turned back, he saw Sakura running to him.

"Sakura..."

Hinata and Neji approuched him as well, and Kakashi followed, then Yamato. Eventually, all of his friends were with him.

"What's going on?" He asked. He didn't get any response, they all looked behind him, looking at his shadow. When Naruto looked back at his, he saw what left them speechless, his shadow showed the sillouette of Kyuubi. "No... No, this can't be happening."

"Let us help you." Sakura said.

"We're your friends." Kiba said, "Let us help you fight this."

Naruto then looked back and saw that Sasuke was standing alone. He wore a large evil grin when Naruto was able to see his face.

"Not so strong now, are you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto then noticed that his body was starting to glow in a bright red aura of chakra. He began to panic when it slowly covered his body, "Get away form me." He turned to his friends, who were still with him, "Go!"

"Not without you, Naruto." Kakashi said.

Naruto then saw his skin changing into orange fur, "NOOO!!!!!" He couldn't control his actions, he began to run at them all, prepared to kill. He saw Hinata in his view and knew immedietly what was going to happen, "Hinata, Run!" His body began to to charge at the Hyuga, "Hinata!"

* * *

Naruto woke up from his nightmare. He sighed with relief when he found himself in the tent he remembered being in before going to sleep. To his left, Sakura was sleeping in her sleeping bag, looking very peaceful. Kakashi was to his right, sleeping with the sleeping bag covering a good portion of his face. He got up and made his way to the tent's exit, stepping over Sakura as he went out.

Hinata's tent wasn't all bad for her part. Kiba didn't snore and Shino was just as quiet in sleep as he is when he was awake. The fire that was set up outside was still bright and burning clearly which gave off a little bit of warmth even though she was inside a tent. A sudden movement of shadow passed her face and she opened her eyes. She saw a silhouette of someone walking outside. She slowly and quietly opened the tent to see who it was.

"Naruto-kun..." She was surprised to see him up at this hour, but didn't want to be noticed.

Naruto sat before the fire, staring at the dancing waves of the flames. He poke at the burning logs with a thick stick in his right hand, letting the fire burn brightly. His nightmares were starting to get worse, instead of getting them just once every night, he's been getting them whenever he sleeps, even when they're simple naps, the images of his nightmare still haunt him. He got up and decided to go back in the tent to get whatever sleep he could. When his focus went back to the fire, he could almost see the flames taking shape of the nine-tailed fox, with the sound of the fire sparking imitating the fox's growl.

"Get out of my HEAD!" Naruto threw the stick at the fire, which eliminated the image of the fox from the pyre.

As the flames danced around once more, Hinata looked in fright when she saw the flames wave around, resembling nine tails. She quickly closed the tent and went back into her sleeping bag.

Naruto sensed that someone was watching him. His katana was back in his tent and his pouch with all his kunais and shuriken were in there as well. He decided to wait for this person to make the first move. When he felt something grasp his shoulder, he spun around, ready to throw a fist, but stopped.

"Neji?"

"I need you to help me wake everyone up." Neji said in a tone of worry.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Tenten's burning up." Neji answered, "We have to get to Konoha as soon as possible."

* * *

It was now in the middle of the afternoon. Two jounins were at the front gate, gaurding the entrance. While it seemed that nothing was happening, a small group began to approuch the gates.

"Go to the Godaime." one of them said to the other. "They're back."

"Right." The other jounin disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Neji held Tenten in his arms as he ran as fast as he could while carrying her. The others were with him as they also ran towards the gate.

"The Godaime will know you've arrived." The jounin gaurd said.

"Then let's hurry." Guy said.

They all made their way to the Hokage's tower, which was on the other side of the village. They reached an intersection that led them to four different places; going stright would take them to Tsunade, the left path would take them to th hospital, the right would take them to ANBU headquarters, and the final path would take them back to where they started. The group, of course, took the path ahead of them, but unaware to them, Neji went to a different direction. He went left.

"Where did Neji and Tenten go?" Tsunade asked, realizing that those two were missing.

"Baa-chan." Naruto said again to get her attention, but was still ignored.

"Neji took off to take Tenten to the hospital." Kakashi said, "I saw them leave the group."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Guy asked with an angry voice.

"Neji's a grown man." Kakashi simply answered, "He can care care of himself and her."

"Guy, Lee, Sai. You two go and see if Neji is at the hospital. If not, then look for them." Tsunade gave the order.

"Baa-chan." Naruto was slowly starting to get impatient. As Guy, Yamato, and Sai left, he hoped that Tsunade would listen to what he had to say.

"Shino, you and Kiba report the results of your mission to Kurenai." Tsunade said, "Hinata, stay here so that I can see those burns on you."

"Hai." The three members of Team Eight said in unison. Shino and Kiba left the office while Hinata stayed where she was standing. She looked over to Naruto and saw that he was starting to get increasingly angry.

"Now let me see that." Tsunade walked over to Hinata to see the wound, "Roll up your sleeve."

Naruto gritted his teeth in fustration that he was being ignored. He had already call for her attention many times now, and each of them were ignored, he couldn't take it anymore.

Tsunade saw the burn marks on her arm. "Well, Sakura did a good job to heal it, but it won't be fully healed with that mark there." Tsunade rolled the sleeve back down, "I have a way to eliminate those scars through..."

"SHUT UP AND LOOK AT ME!!!" Naruto yelled with a large roar. Suddenly, his body began to be consumed in a large shield of burning chakra. He was starting to ose himself to the Kyuubi.

Everyone in the office stared at Naruto in panic as his Kyuubi side slowly started to take over once again. Naruto screamed in pain as the burning chakra began to burn his skin. He tried to fight the pain and forced the chakra to shrink, trying to fight for dominance. The progress of Naruto's fight was shown as the burning chakra shifted between covering his entire body to only being a small, thin layer. Eventually, the chakra shrank and the entire shield faded away, leaving Naruto untouched. He fell on his knees, with his hands as support and he was breathing heavily.

"Are you alright?" Tsuande asked, showing great concern over what she just witnessed. She had never seen Naruto actually reach a state where he was enveloped in a barrier of chakra, but to finally see it, it was truly shocking.

"What's...happening...to me?" Naruto panted out. His face showed signs of deep burns, but they slowly began to heal.

"Sakura, take Hinata to the hospital." Tsunade ordered, "Everyone, you are dismissed." Everyone did as instructed, they all left the office, leaving Tsunade with Naruto. "Sit down, Naruto."

Naruto sat on the chair that was on the opposite end of Tsunade's desk. "Why is this happening to me? I trained for three years to be able to control Kyuubi, but it still isn't enough."

"Naruto, there's something that Jiraiya hasn't told you, that I think you should know." Tsunade said. She sat on her desk, supporting herself wih her arms, "When The Fourth reincarnated the Kyuubi, he had his chakra divided into two; a Yin and Yang chakra. The Yin was sealed along with the Kyuubi's original mind, while you were given the Yang. You probably realized this, but whenever the Kyuubi lends you his chakra, the seal that contains him slowly weakens."

"You mean that its weakening even now?" Naruto asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Tsunade said, with a sad expression on her face.

Naruto got up from his seat and walked over to a wall in the office, "I thought that the whoe training was gonna help me. I left everything behind hoping to make things better. I left my home, my friends...Hinata..." He looked at the burns on his hands as they slowly healed, the burns were now gone and his skin looked healthy again. "Don't tell anyone of this, but there were always times when I thought turning to the Kyuubi for help would always be a good thing for me. The time when I first went into the four-tailed state, I asked Kyuubi for more power."

Tsunade understood why he didn't want her to tell anyone of this. If Jiraiya heard of this, she would assume that he might take it as that Naruto wanted more power to kill him. "Naruto, you know of the risk when you reach that state don't you? Because the Kyuubi's chakra burns your skin and heals it at the same time, you're cells continue to be destroyed and created too quickly."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

"I looked at you're medical record when you returned from training." Tsunade said, "With what happened at Suna, you probably won't live past 40 years of age."

* * *

Neji didn't bother to report to Tsunade first. His top priority was to get Tenten to the hospital as quick as possible. She lost too much blood and was already unconcious, he couldn't risk a second. He ran to the hospital, ignoring the looks of people that he passed by and the offering of help from them. He carried Tenten to the hospital all on his own.

He finally made it to the hospital, he entered through the emergency doorway. When he came inside, there was no one there.

_What kind of place is this, no people around for an emergency?_ Neji was unable to hold in his angst for Tenten's condition. Tears were in his eyes as the thought of losing Tenten was slowing coming closer to reality, "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

* * *

"Sasuke, I thought we were going after your brother." Suigetsu said.

Team snake has still been walking around, looking for Itachi.

"My brother has many tricks up his sleeves. For all I know he might be hiding in a place I least suspect." Sasuke answered, "We're going to the Sound village."

"Aw come on man." Suigetsu complained, "We've been walking away from that place, now we're going back?"

"I asked each of you to come with me because I need all of you to help me." Sasuke said, "Apparently none of you have been much of a help except for Jugo."

"What are you talking about?!" Karin yelled, "I've been helping you so many times! I made sure no one could get near us while we went, hunting for your brother."

"You still haven't been able to sense Itachi's chakra." Sasuke answered, "Until you do, you're of no _real_ help."

While the men continued to walk, Karin was motionless with a shocked look on her face, "THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!"

* * *

"That Naruto is being really troublesome." Itachi said.

The remaining members of Akatsuki gathered at their base of operation. With most of their members dead, it was now a small group.

"We still need him before our plans are complete." Kisame said, "But's it's been so hard to get our hands on him. He always has someone to help him at the last minute."

"We'll just have to remain patient." Pein said, "The time for us to strike will come in time."

Suddenly, a figure appeared from one of the stone fingers on which they all stood, "Pein, he is here."

"Thank you Konan." Pein said, "Forgive me, I must leave. You are all dismissed."

* * *

"What?" Naruto was now shocked by this, "Not even live past 40? Why?"

"It because of the lack of cells you possess." Tsunade answered, "Every human being has limited amounts of cells that get destroyed at a certain age, when those cells are destroyed, new ones take its place. Normal healing jutsus, don't create new cells. They simply speed up the healing of damaged cells. You've been given the ability to heal from minor injuries because of the Kyuubi's power, but when the Kyuubi's chakra burns your cells, in destroys it. The healing effect takes over and it creates new cells. Because of the limited cells a human has, you're lifespan is shortened everytime you change into the four-tailed state."

"So, I have less cells than anyone in my age then?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Tsunade answered, sympathetically, "You would have probably lived long enough to be beyond 90, but you now have the amount of cells a 40 years old man would have."

Naruto stood there, still shocked by what he learned. Was his training worth nothing? Would he end up losing himself to the Kyuubi again? If he did, then what, he'll end up dying at the age of 30? 25? Next year? "I need to go."

"Naruto..." Tsuande realized that this had been to much for Naruto to handle all at once.

"Just leave me alone." Naruto faded away from visibility.

All Tsunade could see was her office door open and then close again. "Invisibility? How did he manage to do that without a hand seal?"

* * *

**Well here's the next chapter. I'll try to have the next one up next week, but with exams coming this month, it might be hard.**

**I'm gonna say this now, so that you all have something to look forward to; there will be a sequal to this, possible another one after that. I'm planning to make this a trilogy. If I decide to go crazy with this, it might be a six book story, but three is what I'm aiming for.**

**How about you all tell me your opinion on this issue. Should this be a trilogy or a six series set(like Star Wars?)**

**Anyways, please remember to review this.**


	20. Emptiness

**Ok, well here's the poll so far;**

**Series of three: I(vnvanman)**

**Series of six: II(Allan pike, DW)**

**I'll let this vote still keep going. For those of you who don't know yet, I prefer happy endings over anything else. Sure, I enjoy a little tragedy here and there(I'm a Korean, we made the mother of tragedy films), but happy endings are always better. I'm not gonna promise that some characters will survive all the stories, some gotta die, after all, their ninjas.

* * *

**

Lee was making his daily laps around the village, waking up early in the morning to finish as many laps as possible before he was called for something. While he was passing by the training grounds, he saw someone sitting on a fallen log. The pink hair instantly told Lee that it was Sakura. As he slowly approuched here, he heard small sobs coming from her

"What's the matter?" Lee asked, "Sakura-san, did someone hurt you?"

Sakura jumped up a little when she heard Lee's voice. She turned back and saw him with a look of concern, "No, I'm fine." She wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"Sakura, I know your lying." Lee said, "Guy-sensei always used to tell Tenten to never hide problems from friends, it just makes things worse."

"What possible problems could Tenten have?" Sakura asked with a sarcastic smile, hopefully trying to change the subject.

"Its not my place to tell you..." Lee stopped for a moment, but knowing that eventually people would find out, "But something began to happen between her and Neji."

"Neji!?" Sakura asked with utter shock.

"I overheard her telling Guy-sensei about it, but I can't really say anymore than what I heard." Lee explained, "Whenever they're together, its always for training and never for other things, but to think that this happens, I truly find it amazing."

Sakura began to ponder on his words, perhaps sharing her issue might make her feel a little bit better, and who knows, maybe he might actually help out in solving it.

"Lee, do you think I'm weak?" Sakura asked.

"You? Weak? Why would you think that?" Lee asked. Throughout the whole time they were ninjas why would Sakura suddenly wonder if she was weak?

"You remember when Naruto came back, he was always seen with a blindfold?" Sakura asked.

Lee nodded in agreement. It was true, ever since Naruto's two year disappearance, he returned with a new look. He always wondered why he wore a blindfold. It confused him more as to how he could still walk with it on as if he was still seeing with his regular view.

"Well, I asked him why he was even wearing it. At first, I thought he was only wearing it to make himself look good." Sakura said, remembering that she teased him about the blindfold. She then remembered the reaction she got from him, "Then he started to get really angry, saying how the blindfold was on for a reason and began to say things about how I always showed little respect for him and kept yelling at me. He then told me of how I never give him enough respect even when he's saved my life many times, saying how weak I am for not taking care of myself. Ever since then, I feel he's been avoiding me."

"He yelled at you?" Lee clenched his fist in anger. _No one ever yells at Sakura-san!_ He got up from the log he was sitting on and proceeded to walk away.

"Lee-san, where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to set him straight." Lee answered, "I'm going to find out why he wears that blindfold and I'm going to make him apologize for yelling at you." With that, he ran off, making his way to find Naruto.

"Wait!" Sakura had no chance in catching him, for speed was one of his many special talents that Sakura lacked in comparison to him. All she could see from him was a blur of green that darted past her view.

* * *

Naruto wasn't far away from either Sakura or Lee, he was walking around in the forest location of the village, wanting to be alone. As he was walking through the forest, he heard the sound of someone. He looked ahead and saw Hinata standing in the middle of an open area in the forest, sweating from what seemed to be training. 

"Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata jumped up a little from the voice of her long-time crush. She adored the sound of his voice, but everytime she heard it, it made her jump, she still believe that after all these years, she still wasn't strong enough to act 'normal around him when she wanted to.

"N-naruto-kun." She blushed when she saw him coming from the shadows of the trees, "What are you doing here?"

"I just needed time to be alone." Naruto answered, "And seeing as how I'm disturbing your training, I'll just leave."

"Wait, Naruto-kun..." Hinata rushed towards the blindfolded ninja and grabbed his hand. She suddenly realized that she was now grasping his hand. In shock of her action, she quickly released her grip and began to blush.

"Hinata?" Realizing that she wanted him to stay, he turned around to face her. "What is it?"

She took a moment to somehow say what she wanted to say without getting the reaction she was going to expect, "Why do you wear the...blindfold?"

"I'm sorry Hinata, I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Hinata asked.

"You wouldn't be able to handle the truth of it." Naruto answered.

"What truth is there?" Hinata asked, "It's just a blindfold."

"Hinata..."

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned to the direction of the voice. In that direction, Lee was approuching him. Hinata saw how angry he looked when he came closer to view.

"What now?" Naruto asked, in a irritated manner.

"Sakura-san told me about what you did to her." Lee answered in a tone of anger, "She told me of how you yelled at her. How can you be so stupid? Its just a blindfold, what do you have to be angry about?"

"Why the hell can't that girl keep her mouth shut?" Naruto asked, although he wasn't actually asking anyone in particular.

"You have no right to say things like that about her!" Lee yelled.

"Lee! Stop!" Sakura came running from the same area Lee had just come from, "Leave him alone, please. Just stop, its over."

"No its not." Lee said, "You want the reason behind that blindfold, I'll make him give the reason." Lee brought his left arm behind his waist and brought his right arm up, positioning himself in his traditional Strong Fist stance.

"You don't want to do this." Naruto reasoned with the green clad ninja, "I really don't see why you guys are making such a big deal about my blindfold."

"Then why don't you just take it off?" Sakura asked.

"I have my reasons." Naruto answered.

"You have no reasons." Lee finally got fed up with Naruto stalling. He charged at Naruto, trying to land a punch at his chest, but Naruto jumped over him to dodge the blow. "You only wear that to get the attentions of other girls, just like Kakashi-sensei."

"You leave him out of this." Naruto demanded. "And I suggest you don't push me or I'll make sure its the last thing you ever do."

"Try me." Lee took his stance again.

"Fine." Naruto got into his own stance, fists forward and ready to punch.

Sakura and Hinata stood to one side, knowing that their words wouldn't be able to stop this. They only stared as they waited for one of them to make the first move. Lee struck first with a jump forward. He positioned himself to deliver a kick to Naruto. Naruto performed his unnamed technique to levitate a log to move in front of him to take the blow. Lee kicked through the log, but still missed Naruto.

"How does he do that?" Sakura asked, "He didn't use any scroll or hand seals for that."

Naruto threw a punch at Lee, but he dodged the blow, by jumping over it. He was now in a handstand, with his hands on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto quickly dropped to the ground and threw his feet up to kick Lee. Lee jumped off of Naruto and landed on the grass. While he got up to regain his balance, Naruto jumped towards him. He delivered made a dive kick right at Lee's back. Lee quickly kicked back onto his feet. Naruto delivered a kick at Lee, but he backflipped and dodged the attack.

"You're faster than before." Lee commented. He kneeled on the grass as he was breathing heavily.

"What do you think I did for the past three years?" Naruto asked, panting to catch his breath.

"Looks like I'll have to take this up a notch." Lee reach to his legs and into his legwarmers. He pulled out the weights from inside and let them drop on the grass. He got up from kneeling on the grass and faced Naruto, "See if you can match this."

In a sudden flash, Lee dashed at Naruto in a speed that made him look like a blur. Naruto quickly anticipated his position and moved out of the way in time before Lee landed a kick. Naruto flipped backward and landed behind the broken log that Lee previously kicked through. Lee ran forward with his fist gripped tightly and ready to punch through wahatever came in contact with his bandaged hands. Naruto motioned his hands the the remains of the log levitated up and formed a barrier in front of him. Lee's fist broke through the shield, elminating Naruto's source of protection. When the logs fell to the ground, Lee was surprised to not find Naruto standing behind it.

Naruto was standing behind Lee. He prepared himself for a punch to his back, but the green clad chunin quickly countered the attack by ducking and grabbing his wrist as it came over him. Naruto looked down and saw that Lee was ready for an attack of his own.

"All too easy." Lee smiled. He threw his fist up and it met with Naruto's face.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata looked in disbelief and shock to see Naruto flying backwards from the blow.

Naruto landed hard on the ground with his face towards the floor. He slowly got up from the hit. He had to admit, Lee did put up a good fight and that was incredibly fast for one who lack ninjutsu and genjutsu. As he got up, he couldn't help but feel like something was taken from him.

"Na...ru...to..." Sakura looked in shock to see what was just revealed before her.

Hinata had no words coming out of her throat for the shocking sight made her almost stop breathing. She couldn't believe that what she was looking at was real. What she was looking brought tears to her eyes.

Naruto's blindfold was removed from his eyes, revealing what was hidden underneath; nothing.

Hinata was familiar with the term 'empty eyes', but only as an expression. She never thought the day would come that she would know that term in literal standards, for that was what she was looking at. Naruto's eyes were not there. Where the bright blue eyes used to be, the ones that always made Hinata swoon in lust for him, they were now replaced with empty sockets.

Sakura and Lee were lost in words. All they wanted was for him to reveal why he had the blindfold on, but to realize that _this_ was the reason, it made them realize how stupid they were.

"Oh no..." Naruto realized that the blindfold was removed from him when he was punched by Lee. He searched around for where the blindfold was. Upon finding it just in front of him, he motion at it and it flew up to his hands. He wrapped the blindfold over his eyes and tied it tightly.

"Naruto...I..." Sakura didn't know how to explain what she had just seen.

"You see why I had to hide it?!" Naruto asked furiously. Though his voice contained violent rage, it also had small hints of pity. "I told you that you wouldn't be able to understand!" He backed away from all three of them.

"Naruto, wait." Sakura walked forward. After how horrible she felt for doing this, she just wanted to hug him and tell him how sorry she was.

Naruto didn't stop, as he backed away, his body slowly started to fade with the surrounding. He was becoming invisible.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran over to Naruto, but by the time she was in arm's reach of him, he was gone.

"An invisibility jutsu?" Lee asked, wondering what it was that rendered Naruto invisible.

"It couldn't have been." Sakura commented, "He didn't use a hand seal for that either." Her attention then turned to Hinata. "Hinata, your Byakugan."

"Hai. Byakugan." The veins appeared next to her eyes, she scanned the area of where the stood, but the look she gave brought confusion to the others.

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"I still can't see him." Hinata said. Her Byakugan deactivated, "Its just like before. His chakra is somehow invisible."

* * *

It wasn't night yet, but the sun was setting, which signaled the day coming to a close. Unfotunately, the hosptial doesn't follow the laws of other businesses. While many of the patients slept at around this time, the nurses were still up and working. 

Among the few patients that were still awake, Neji was one of them. He was in the hospital for the minor injuries he sustained during his time as a tortured prisoner, but the real pain he had was from the ones in his heart. The sight of Tenten in the state she was in hurt him more than any battle wound.

...Flashback...

Neji didn't bother to report to Tsunade first. His top priority was to get Tenten to the hospital as quick as possible. She lost too much blood and was already unconcious, he couldn't risk a second. He ran to the hospital, ignoring the looks of people that he passed by and the offering of help from them. He carried Tenten to the hospital all on his own.

He finally made it to the hospital, he entered through the emergency doorway. When he came inside, there was no one there.

_What kind of place is this, no people around for an emergency?_ Neji was unable to hold in his angst for Tenten's condition. Tears were in his eyes as the thought of losing Tenten was slowing coming closer to reality, "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

...End...

He was walking down the hallways of the hospital. He needed to see her, he couldn't care how bad his conditions were, he wanted to know how hers were.

"Where do you think your going?"

Neji didn't have to turn to face the one who had caught him out of bed. His Byakugan wasn't even needed for him to know who it was.

"Ino please, I need to see her." Neji said.

"Visiting hours are over." Ino replied. Her arms were crossed with one hand holding a clipboard and a pencil resting on her right ear.

"Please don't stop me." Neji proceeded to walk along, looking for the room where Tenten was, of course he didn't know where she was. When he brought Tenten to the hospital, he was taken to another room for his own treatment.

"Neji, you have to go back to your room." Ino walked over to Neji and grabbed his wrist, stopping him from moving any further, "And if they find out I let you wander the halls, I'm gonna get in trouble for it."

Neji didn't reply to this, he simply stood there. Ino was curious as to why Neji didn't say anything back at her, but her question was answered when she heard the sound of something wet dripping onto the floor little by little. Tears. She moved over to see Neji's face and saw that tears were flowing down his face.

"Neji..." Ino had no clue as to what to do about this. Never in her life has she seen Neji cry before, let alone show any emotion of sadness. This was completely new for her.

"Ino, please. I need to see her." Neji begged. Something that he never did before. "I need to see that she's alright."

"Neji..." Ino's eyes widened in realization, "You really care about her, don't you?"

Neji didn't respond. The tears kept sliding down his cheeks, falling on the ground below. Seeing the pain in him, Ino couldn't let him stay away from her for long.

"Come with me." Ino said, "But you need to keep quiet."

* * *

Naruto was resting on his bed. What could he do now? Sakura, Lee, and Hinata know about his eyes, but they're eventually going to insist on knowing why his eyes are gone. It was only a matter of time before they ask. He heard a knock on the door, no doubt it was one of the three. 

"Naruto-kun?"

It was Hinata. Perhaps if he ignores it, she'll just go away.

"Naruto-kun, I know you're in there. Please open up." Hinata apparently wasn't planning on giving up. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry about what happened to you, but I can't help but worry that your going through all this alone."

Perhaps she was right. Maybe he was handling this pain alone. Maybe it was best to tell someone before someone finds out the more painful way. He got up from bed and walked to the door. He unlocked the door and Hinata was standing there.

"Can I come in?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, sure." Naruto moved to the side to let her in and closed the door as she entered. "Listen Hinata. You had to understand why I kept secrets from all of you."

"I understand, but could you...tell me what happened?" Hinata asked.

Naruto thought over his coming decision, how would Hinata react once she knew? Would it be wise to tell her? Taking in a deep breath, he spoke. "It was Orochimaru."

Hinata's eyes widened. That name brought shivers down her spine, knowing that he was the one responsible for Sandaime Hokage's death.

"It started about six months after I left." Naruto began, "I was with Yamato training, but that was when Orochimaru and Kabuto found me."

...Flashback...

Naruto charged at Kabuto with a Rasengan in hand. The swirling orb of bright blue chakra hovered on his right hand as the orb was getting closer to the sound-nin. Kabuto easily dodged the attack, but the orb hit the tree behind him. The area they now stood in was a leveled part of a forest.

"You've improved since our last meeting." Kabuto said with an evil grin on his face.

Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead. A small trace of blood trailed out from a cut just over his left eyebrow. Kabuto had a cut on his left cheek that went horizontal, reaching to the bridge of his nose. Naruto charged at him, his fist was balled tightly for a punch. Kabuto instantly caught the fist and prevented him using that hand. Naruto tried to punch with the other fist, but it was blocked and held as well.

"You're just as arrogant as before." Kabuto commented, "You should be lucky I didn't come here to kill you. Orochimaru-sama gave me orders."

"Then, what do you want?" Naruto asked. He was panting with strained effort of trying to break free of his grip.

"I came for this." Kabuto simply grinned with a sense of evil intentions. With a forceful motion with his arms, Kabuto thrusted Naruto's hands back. Using this, he shot both his hands forward, imbedding each fingertip into both of Naruto's eyes. With his fingers inside the sockets of the young shinobi's eyes, he forced his hands out. His fingers were followed by a trail of blood that came from the eyes that now rested in the grasp of Kabuto.

The loud sound of Naruto's painful scream echoed through he trees, though no one was there to hear him. Naruto fell to the grassy floor, both his hands covering his eyes. The blood oozing out from between the fingers. While he was in pain and losing so much blood, Kabuto stood there smiling at his success. He held onto his prize as the blood from them seeped through between his fingers.

...End...

Hinata gasped loudly and threw her hand to her open mouth. The shocking truth brought tears to her eyes.

"Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry." Hinata stuttered, trying to fight back as much tears as possible.

Naruto smiled. He brought his hands to her face and wiped the tears off her cheeks, "Don't worry. Even though I lost my sight, I've made up for it."

"How?" Hinata asked, sniffing as the tears stopped.

"It's kinda complicated, but it relies on chakra control." Naruto answered, "And alot of brain power."

"You mean you can see?" Hinata now knew how Naruto was able to act as if he can see like any normal person. "But how..."

"Listen, its getting late. You know your father wouldn't want you here this late with me."

"Alright." Hinata said, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah." Naruto smiled, "Tomorrow."

* * *

**Well, what did you all think? I'm gonna assume that very little to none of you thought that Naruto would have worn the blindfold because he had no eyes. I bet you guys thought it was a new form of bloodline limit or something.**

**Please remember to review.**

**And please, I really need all your opinions on what I should do for the future, a series of three or six. I'll let the vote go on until the end of the month. For those of you who already voted, thank you.**


	21. Intimacy

**Well, the poll still stands at;**

**Series of three: V(added by TimeShifter, Kingkakashi, and moonlight-village-anbu, TheKey92)**

**Series of six: II(King kakashi is in the gray for this, so i'll leave him for three until I finish this story.)**

**Keep those votes coming.

* * *

**

Tsunade looked through some documents, standard job for a Hokage. It's been over a week since Naruto and the others returned from Suna, and when her workload seemed to double. She sometimes wondered if Naruto's presence in Konoha was a curse to her job; whenever he's out of the village for missions, she finds more time relax, but whenever he's home, the workload keeps piling on her desk. While she was looking through them all, Naruto walked into the office.

"You wanted to see me?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade put down all the papers in her hand and got up from her seat. "Take it off."

"Huh?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Hinata told me what happened yesterday." Tsunade said, "Get rid of the blindfold."

Naruto sighed in defeat and reached for his forehead protector. He untied the knot from behind and let the protector drop on the floor. Tsunade gasped in shock when she saw that Sakura's words were confirmed. Naruto's bright blue eyes were no longer there, just empty sockets that once had eyes.

"You say Kabuto took your eyes out?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah." Naruto answered.

Tsunade walked up to Naruto and gently held his cheeks in her hand. She looked closely into his empty sockets for an examination. "I think I know what Orochimaru wanted your eyes for." She walked to a bookshelf and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled the scroll and laid it on her desk, "I think your eyes were taken because they somehow hold the powers of the Kyuubi."

"How?" Naruto asked.

"Whenever you tap into the Kyuubi' power, what's the first thing that everyone notices about you that changes?" Tsuande asked.

"Well, they've always mentioned that my eyes changed." Naruto answered, "Wait, my eyes...Is that it?"

"Exactly. Your eyes are the first sign of the Kyuubi's power. As you were told before, you are the Kyuubi's reincarnation; you still have some elements of the Kyuubi in you." Tsuande said, "Orochimaru wanted your eyes in hopes of trying to extract the Kyuubi's powers from you."

"But wouldn't it have been better for him if he took my entire body?" Naruto asked.

"Those eyes are still yours. Even when the eyes aren't connected to the body, there's still a connection between them." Tsuande answered, "At first, I couldn't understand why you had little control over the Kyuubi even after training for three years, but now I know; Orochimaru's experimenting with you eyes. It's because of that, that your control over Kyuubi is weak. Because you lack the control, the Kyuubi's chakra is slowly being more powerful, and that's what's causing the seal to weaken."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Naruto asked.

"A mission." Tsuande simply said, "You're going to get your eyes back."

* * *

Naruto stood outside the Hyuga estate, waiting for someone to come to the door. The front door opened and Hanabi came out. 

"Hi, is your sister home?" Naruto asked, smiling.

"Uh, yeah. I'll go get her." Hanabi closed the door and left to get her sister.

After a few mintues, the door opened again and Hinata slowly walked out.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I was hoping we could do something together." Naruto said, "I don't know when my next mission is, so I wanted to spend what time I had left before leaving."

"Oh, ok." Hinata smiled, "Well, what can we do?"

"Well, we can always go for a walk in the park." Naruto said, "It's been a long time since I've been there."

"Ok." Hinata said, "Just give me a minute. I'll be back."

"Alright."

* * *

Naruto and Hinata walked down a path in the large scattering trees. The trees provided lots of shade for them, but enough sunlight to keep them warm in the afternoon temperature. 

"Man, this feels great." Naruto stretched his arms wide, "I really missed this place."

Hinata watched Naruto carefully as he walked. She kept a close look at moments where she thought he might trip over something and fall. The two approuched a small set of stone stairs that were only two steps high that led to a bridge over a stream. Naruto gently held onto the handrail and stepped on the stone. Hinata was surprised to see that Naruto was moving as if he never lost his eyes.

"Hinata, you've been staring at me for a while." Naruto said, "What's up?"

"I was just wondering. How can you see?" Hinata asked.

"Chakra."

"Chakra?"

"Yeah. Sorta like how a bat uses sound to see, I use chakra to see." Naruto explained, "I simply send out a wave of chakra and whatever objects it bounces off of, I'm able to picture what's around me. But the downside is that I can't see color. All I can see is the color of the chakra."

While the two continued to walk through the park, Hinata debated to herself on whether or not she should reach out to hold his hand.

"Hey, Hinata, you're not busy later today are you?" Naruto asked.

"No, not at all." Hinata answered, "Why?"

"Well, I've been gone for three years, I want to see what new jutsus you've learned." Naruto said, "Can I see them?"

"Sure, I'd love to show you." Hinata smiled.

"Great, then let's go to the training field." Naruto grabbed her hand and the two ran off to the direction of the training field.

* * *

"You're free to go now." The nurse said, "Just don't do any training for the first week." 

"I'll try to resist." Tenten smiled. She did up the last button on her shirt and hopped out of her bed. The door opened and she was greeted by one she somehow expected, yet didn't at the same time, "Neji?"

"You're out this soon?" Neji asked, "They told me you'd be discharged later tonight." He moved out of the way to let the nurse exit through the door.

"They thought I could handle myself." Tenten smiled. Neji still looked upset in seeing Tenten's left cheek covered by a cloth patch and several small bruises on her face.

"How do you feel?" Neji asked.

"Well, I've been better." Tenten said with a smirk on her face, "But nothing I haven't dealt with."

"Good, I'm glad." Neji said, "I was beginning to worry."

Tenten walked up to the Hyuuga slowly, pacing her steps. "Um...do you remember what you said to me? Back when we were captured?"

"Yes." Neji answered quietly. He remembered how he willingly gave Kabuto information about their mission to keep Tenten alive, how he told Tenten he couldn't bear to see her hurt, and how he would have given up his own life if it meant saving hers.

"Did you mean it?" Tenten asked, "Would you really have givven up your life for me?"

Neji paused. He didn't expect Tenten to bring this up so soon, he was hoping to have something to say to that, but all he could muster up was, "Yes..."

Tenten smiled as she heard him answer her question. "You know, if you weren't such a stick in the mud, girls would go crazy for you." Suddenly, she did something that took Neji by surprise; she pressed her hand on his chest and pushed him to the door. _I can't believe I'm actually going to do this._ She reached for the blinds that were above the door's window and pulled it down to cover it. "I personally find it attractive." She reached down to the door knob and locked it shut.

"Tenten...what are you doing?" Neji asked, clearly shocked by this approuch. His face was suddenly brightening up to a red hue.

"What does it look like, _baka_?" Tenten asked with a fozy grin. She grabbed the front of Neji's robe and pulled his head in for a kiss. Closing her eyes, she began to indulge of the excitement of finally making the first move of the silent Hyuga.

Neji's eyes were still wide open, for he was still in complete shock of what was now happening. He grabbed Tenten's hand that was grasping onto his robe and pushed her away from his face. "What was that?" He asked.

"What? You don't know a kiss when you see one?" Tenten asked.

"But we can't do this." Neji said, "We're teammates, things will get complicated and I don't enjoy complicated situations."

"Neji, I know you prefer simple over anything else, but there's nothing complicated about a kiss." Tenten said. She moved up to Neji again and tried to kiss him once more, but Neji's arms pushed her back again, "What makes it complicated is if you keep backing away."

Neji paused. This was now the second time she caught him speechless, and within the same hour for that matter.

"So, what do you say?" Tenten asked, waiting for one of few results. Either, he makes the next move by kissing her back, saying 'no' to this, or walking out the door.

Neji inhaled deeply, "I won't say anything." He answered simply.

Unexpected to Tenten, with what he had just said, Neji grabbed her hands and pulled her in. He brought his right hand to the back of Tenten's neck and the left to her back, he brought her lips with his and closed his eyes to kiss her. Tenten was now the shocked one, she never expected Neji to do this so quickly. She closed her eyes and brought her hands to the Hyuga's cheeks and kissed him back.

* * *

Naruto stared in amazement as Hinata stood in the middle of the field with several puddles of water around her. He had just witnessed her perform a variety of water-based jutsus. 

"Wow..." Naruto had no other words to say.

"How was that?" Hinata asked, panting from exhaustion.

"That was incredible." Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei really taught you alot."

Hinata smiled. She really missed Naruto complimenting her talents. She was finally stronger and impressed Naruto, just like what she dreamed for. "Um...do you think you can show me your Rasengan?"

"Eh? Why?" Naruto asked, "You've seen it so many times."

"Well, not with the wind element." Hinata said.

"Oh, well that's true." Naruto put his hands together for a seal, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" A shadow clone stood next to Naruto. The original held out his right hand and the swirling sphere of chakra formed. The second clone swirled the wind element into the Rasengan, creating a shell outside it.

Hinata looked carefully into the sphere. Activating her Byakugan, she took a closer examination of the jutsu. _He has fine control over it, but it's still not complete._

When Naruto noticed that Hinata's Byakugan was on and she was looking at the Rasengan, he quickly canceled the jutsu, "What is it?"

Hinata's Byakugan immedietly turned off, "Oh, uh, nothing."

"You were looking at the ball, was there something wrong?" Naruto asked, "If you know how I can ake it better, please tell me, what I'm doing wrong."

Naruto was now asking Hinata for his help. She never thought that Naruto would be asking her to help him in something like this. "Well, the chakra sphere is perfect, there's nothing wrong with that. It's the wind element that seems to be the problem."

"How?"

"Well, from what Kakashi-sensei told me about elements, the wind element is known for being a slicing type of element." Hinata went on, "You've made a shell to surround the sphere of chakra, which would slice anything it would come in contact with. The outside of the shell is nicely made, but the inside is also made the same way."

Naruto took a few seconds to gather all that Hinata had told him, "I don't really get it."

Hinata sighed in defeat, _I guess Kakashi-sensei was right about him. He needs more simple explanations._ "When you make the wind element form on your Rasengan, it creates a shell that can slice anything. That slicing layer is also forming in the inside of the shell."

"Oh I get it. So you're saying that the slice in the wind is on the outside and inside." Naruto said, "But how is that the problem?"

"Well, with the slicing wind inside the shell, its cutting at the chakra sphere, which affects its strength." Hinata explained, "That would explain why you still need a shadow clone to mix the wind element. If you want to make the jutsu 100 powerful, you need the make the inside of the wind shell smooth."

"Thanks, Hinata. That really helped." Naruto said. He looked up at the sky, the sun was starting to slowly hide in the trees, "We better get back."

* * *

Back at the hospital, Neji and Tenten slowly creeped out of the room which Tenten was in. They both looked around to see if anyone was in the hall. With no one there, they casually walked down the hall.

As the two down the hall, Sakura and Ino came out of room, after checking on their own patients.

"Hey look." Ino pointed to the two as they turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

"Neji and Tenten? Why are they still here?" Sakura asked, "I heard Tenten was discharged an hour ago."

"Her room is in this hall, right?" Ino asked.

"Yeah...you don't think they..."

After a sudden realization, their eyes went wide as dinner plates and they shrieked in shock.

Neji and Tenten were now at the main foyer of the building, making their way to the doorway that led them outside.

"We don't talk about what happened, back there." Neji said, sternly, "Ever."

"Agreed." Tenten replied.

The two walked through the streets of the village. Tenten couldn't resist the urge she had in her. She reached over and grabbed Neji's hand and held onto it as they walked. Neji looked at his hand in question when he felt her hand hold his. He didn't bother to do anything against it, instead, he just kept his hand in hers as they continued to walk. While Tenten wasn't able to notice, Neji couldn't help but reveal a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata walked across the major shopping district of the village, which was the shortest way to get back to the Hyuga estate. While they were walking by, they passed a weapons shop. The store owner came out when she noticed Naruto walking by. 

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned around when he heard his name being called by a woman.

"A heard rumors that you've been mastering the wind element." The woman said.

"Well, its not a rumor." Naruto said, "It's true."

"Well, then you're going to love this. Come in." She waved at him to come into her store. While Naruto turned to go in the shop, Hinata followed. A few minutes wouldn't hurt. They came inside and the stoer owner took out a case that had a katana inside. The scabbard was solid black, nothing of real interest. The store owner unsheathed the katana, which was what surprised both Naruto and Hinata. The blade of the katana was different compared to a standard one; the front half of the blade, the sharp side, was misisng. It made the katana look very fragile. The katana had no handgaurd, and the handle was wrapped with a red gripping. "I got them earlier this morning. This blade channels your elemental chakra and forms the sharp side of the blade. After I heard you trained in wind manipulation, I knew you would love this."

"Wow, thanks for considering me, but I don't have the money to afford this." Naruto said as he looked at the price tag that was on the case. "It may be a while before I have the money."

"Well, it'll be waiting for you." The store owner said, "I'm expecting to have some more arriving at the end of the month."

"Alright. Bye." Naruto and Hinata left the shop, continuing their trip to the Hyuga estate.

It wasn't long before the two arrived at the front entrance of Hinata's home.

"Thank you for walking with me." Hinata smiled.

"Well, when you said that no one would be home, I thought I should keep you company with the time we have." Naruto said.

As they were right at the door of the estate, Hinata turned to say good-bye. As Naruto turned to leave, Hinata suddenly wanted to say something to him, "Um, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah?" Naruto turned back around to face her.

"I um..." Hinata suddenly forgot what she wanted to say.

"What is it?" Naruto walked up to her.

"...I...well...I've.." With Naruto's face so close to hers, she couldn't focus on what was in her mind. She struggled to stick to trying to say what she wanted to say, "When I tld you...that...I..."

"Yeah?" Naruto was still a little confused as to where this was going. A small breeze crept up his back, giving him a chill, he stepped forward, hoping that the wall would keep him safe from the cold, but when he stepped forward, he tripped on his foot. He fell forward, but caught himself with his hand. When he looked forward, he was now face to face with Hinata, and his hand was on the wall, almost 'trapping' Hinata in the corner of her porch. Naruto was a little surprised as to how he suddenly saw Hinata in a completely different way. With him so close to her, her face was more visible to his eyes, well to his vision. Despite seeing her only as a form of chakra projection, he was able to see how beautiful she was.

"N-naruto-kun..."

Naruto slowly drew closer to Hinata. As their faces came closer, Hinata closed her eyes. Their lips met and everything around them seemed to no longer exist. Their lips parted, and when Naruto backed away to see her face, Hinata had the look of a person waking up from a great dream. Hinata opened her eyes and smiled with a deep red blush.

After so many years of waiting, She had finally kissed the one she wanted. She had finally kissed Naruto.

Naruto brought his arms around her and with one swift motion, he lifted her up. With his telekinetic jutsu, he opened the door of the estate and walked inside.

"You said no one's home right?" Naruto asked.

"They won't be back for a while." Hinata answered, still blushing brightly.

"That'll do just fine." He kicked the door shut behind him.

* * *

**Well, love sure is in the air now. There's still four more days before I close the poll for a series of six or three. It seems pretty one-sided to me, but I have a feeling that after a certain chapter, some of you might change your mind. If that is the case, I'll put up another poll that will last until the end of the story.**

**I'm currently in the works of making the story for the sequel. I don't want to spoil much, since you need to know the whole first story. I'll say this as the only spoiler for the sequel; the majority of the story will be around the Water Country(not entirely at the country, but some countries around it) and I'm introducing pirates.**

**Anyways, please review.**


	22. Surprises Abound

**My original plan was to not have Naruto and Hinata kiss until the last chapter, but I felt that I was torturing you guys enough with their kisses being interupted everytime. I was gonna plan on having Neji interupt their kiss in the previous chapter, but it was too good of a moment to pass up.**

**I'm gonna try to add a bit of humor in this story. It seems like i'm making it too tragic, considering Naruto's fate.**

**I'm terribly sorry to those who were hoping for a series of six, but I had a friend double check the plots for the remaining five and found them all to be too repetitive. He also noted that by the time I made it to the sixth series, all the characters would be around their 40s. So I had to re-edit them all, and narrowed it down to a series of four. Once again I apologize to all who wanted it to be six stories long. I'm planning to make one-shot side stories to compensate for the loss.**

**Oh and one more thing; a reviewer asked if that store owner of the weapons shop was important. The answer is no, but the weapon she showed Naruto is.**

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* * *

**

Neji and Tenten arrived at the Hyuga estate. It was starting to get dark, the sun was now gone from view, with the moon being the one to provide the light for the village. The streelights were what filled the dark corners of the streets.

"You should probably get home." Neji said.

"Why can't I stay with you a little longer?" Tenten asked. She wrapped her arms around Neji's arm. "You know you can't resist me." She smiled at him with a foxy grin.

Neji simply smiled back as he lifted Tenten onto his back. He opened the door to the estate and closed the door behind him, "There should be no one home."

"Let's hope so."

* * *

The door to the living room slid open as Naruto and Hinata came in. Naruto undid the black belts and let the orange sash fall on the floor with the belts. The two kissed as they walked through the living room, trying to reach somewhere to lie down. Naruto reached to Hinata's neck and gently removed her robe, leaving her in her pants and top undergarments. He tossed the robe aside, which landed at the top of the sofa in the room. Hinata reached over and removed Naruto's black shirt and dropped it on the ground. Now both were left with their upperwear removed. Once they reached the sofa in the room, Naruto gemtly put more force in his movements and the two dropped on the cushions, with Naruto on top. 

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata wasn't entirely prepared for this. Just a few minutes ago, she had kissed Naruto, now they were already at the step on getting more intimate with eachother.

"If you don't want to do this, I'm fine with that." Naruto said.

"No, I want to." Hinata replied.

Naruto smiled as he kissed Hinata once more. This time, he slowly dug his tongue into her mouth. Almost as if she had done this before, she intertwined his tongue with her own. The taste of Naruto, she had waited so long for it, now she finally had it.

As the two continued to embrace eachother, the door of the living room opened again. Neji and Tenten walked into the door and immedietly stopped in their tracks after seeing what was happening with Naruto and Hinata.

"What the..." Tenten stared at the two with wide eyes.

"Hinata-sama."

Hinata quickly reached for her robe and covered her chest with it. "Neji-san." Her face instantly went red. "W-we can explain."

"Well, you should." Neji said, with a disappointing tone, "If Hiashi-sama knew of this..."

"No, please don't tell him." Hinata begged, "I can't let him know about what Naruto-kun and I were..."

"Wait a minute." Naruto got up from the sofa. The strong figure of his chest was something Tenten began to slightly blush on, "What are you two doing here?"

Neji's face instantly went red. He was so disappointed in Hinata's actions that he completely forgot his own. Tenten quickly stood in front of Neji, "We can explain."

"Well, if its the same reason as us, then you don't have to." Naruto said. He leaned to the side to see Neji, "But seriously man, I can understand Tenten would want to do this, but I expected a lot better from you." He was only met with the still red face of Neji. His face was as red as the first time he tried the curry on their mission six years ago, that involved the Mist Swordsman; Raiga.

"What the hell do you mean by that?!" Tenten slammed her fist on Naruto's head.

"OW!" Naruto rubbed the top of his head, "Easy...that really hurt."

Neji suddenly turned his attention to something else. He began to sense something was happening outside. His Byakugan was on and he looked outside. "Hiashi-sama is almost here."

"Uh oh..." Naruto quickly gathered all his clothes and put it back on. "I'm outta here."

"Hey, wait. What about me?" Tenten asked, "He's gonna wonder why I'm here."

Naruto grabbed Tenten's hand. "Whatever you do, don't make any noise." He pulled Tenten along as the two went to the door. As they reached the door, Naruto began to turn invisible once more, but this time, Tenten was also fading from view. "I'll see you tomorrow Hinata." Naruto's voice trailed off as the two Hyugas heard the footsteps fade.

* * *

Outside the Hyuga estate, a sudden loud thump hit the ground, creating a dustcloud. Naruto and Tenten appeared from inside the cloud. 

"I suggest we find better places to cuddle with them." Naruto said, "The Hyuga estate seems to risky."

"Cuddle? Is that the best word you can think of?" Tenten asked, with her arms crossed, "What are you, eight?"

"Hey, how am I supposed to know what you and Neji do?" Naruto asked. "I'm just speaking in general terms for the four of us."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go home." Tenten said, "It's dark enough as it is, I don't want my parents finding out that I've been with Neji this late."

"Alright." Naruto said, "I'll see you later." As he walked off, he slowly became invisible. It wasn't like he needed to do that, he simply had nothing else to do for his walk home.

"How does he do that?" Tenten asked herself, "The guy's a freak."

"I heard that!" Naruto yelled from the emptiness.

* * *

Hiashi entered his home and found Hinata and Neji inside, "Hinata, when did you arrive?" 

"Uh...I came a few minutes ago." Hinata answered.

"Where have you been?"

"She was training with me." Neji answered for her, "Hinata-sama was training with me. She asked me to help her how to improve her Gentle Fist taijutsu."

"I see..." Hiashi smiled understanding that Hinata was training to be stronger, "Keep doing your best Hinata."

"I will, Otou-san." Hinata bowed.

"It's getting late. The two of you should be getting to bed." Hiashi said, "And Hinata, come to my office tomorrow after breakfast. We have some matters to discuss with your future as our heir."

"Hai." Hinata bowed once more.

"Good night, Hiashi-sama." Neji bowed to his uncle, "Good night Hinata-sama."

"Good night Neji-san." Hinata bowed back.

The two went their seperate ways to get to their rooms, leaving Hiashi to go to his office to deal with his own matters.

* * *

Naruto woke up. He found it rather strange that he slept well last night, considering the nightmares he had, perhaps his moment with Hinata helped. _Maybe I should do that more often._ He then slapped himself across the face. _Jesus man, you already hate Ero-sennin for being like that, what's he gonna say when you act the same way?_ He got out of bed and got ready for the day. He got into the shower and soaked himself up in the warm water, washing off his drowsiness. Despite having no eyes, he still knew how to close them. He didn't really enjoy the feeling of the water filling up the empty sockets, it made him feel like he was having a major allergy attack and that his eyes were really watery. He finished up in the shower and dried himself off with his towel. He went back into his bedroom and got out his clothes. As he tied the final black belt that held his orange sash into place, he sighed in relief, _Why did those bandits have to use so many belts? Why not just get a really thick one?_ He covered his eyes with his forehead protector and tied it tightly into place. He made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. Since he didn't no anything about cooking, instant ramen was the best he could do. He took one pack from the cupboard and emptied the contents into a bowl. He put it into a mircrowave and set the timer, he never liked waiting on food, but it was all worth it when it was time to eat. 

The bell from the microwave signaled that breakfast was ready. He pulled the bowl out of the microwave and set everything up on the table. Before Naruto could eat, he noticed that he had quite a lot of mail that was from the past three years. He brought the letters to the table. While he used his hands to open and read the mail, his, still unnamed telekinetic technique moved the chopsticks to bring the noodles into his mouth. Some of the letters were about special offers at stores that were now expired, others were from people who didn't know that Naruto left, and the rest were letters that were sent to the wrong address. Seeing that he didn't need to read them all, he left them on the table and used his hands to finish up the ramen. After finisheding the last portion of the ramen, he put it all in the sink.

"Naruto?" A voice came from the door.

"Sakura?" Naruto recognized that voice. He opened the door to be greeted by Sakura, who was holding a wrapped box. "What's up?"

"Tsunade wants us in her office." Sakura said, "She has a mission for us."

"What's in the box?" Naruto asked, curious as to why she had it with her.

"I don't know, I found it out here. Its for you." Sakura said. She gave the box to Naruto, who walked to his couch with it, leaving the door open.

"You can come in." Naruto said. He placed the gift-wrapped box on the coffee table. "I wonder who it's from." He ripped the wrapping off and saw that it was a case.

"Geex, the least you can do is keep this place clean." Sakura said, looking at the state of the apartment. She remembered how she helped Hinata on many occasions in cleaning the place. She kneeled on the floor opposite of Naruto, watching as he opened the wrapping like a little boy on his birthday.

Naruto opened the case and was surprised when he found what was inside.

"Well?" Sakura leaned over to get a closer look at what was inside. "What is it?"

"It's a katana." Naruto pulled out the sheathed blade. He unsheathed the katana, wanting to see the shine from the blade. The blade was quite thin, and blunt. He then remembered seeing this katana at the weapons shop last night, it was the one the store owner recommended to him after learning that he trained in wind manipulation. He then noticed that there was a card inside the case. He sheathed the blade and took the card to read it. All he did was smile when he finished reading. He got up from his couch and strapped the katana behind him, secruring it with the belts. "Come on, let's go." He got up and headed for the door.

Sakura's curiousity got the best of her as she took the card to read it herself.

_Stay strong._

_I hope this will help you._

_Hyuga, Hinata._

"Oi, Sakura." Naruto called to her, "I have to lock the door."

"Oh, sorry." She got up and ran out the door.

* * *

"We're going back to Suna?" Kiba asked. "Why there?" 

"Well, that was Orochimaru was when Neji and Tenten were captured." Tsunade said, "Around the forest where you ran into Kabuto, that would be the best place to start your search."

"So this is our team?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto requested for each of you to be in the team." Tsunade answered, "And I think its a perfect matchup."

Naruto, Kiba, Sakura were now assigned as the team with Kakashi as their leader.

"You all have one hour to prepare." Kakashi said, "We'll meet at the gates."

"Got it." They all said in unison.

* * *

Naruto had less than an hour before he had to leave for his mission, he wanted to do one thing before he left. He was already packed for the mission, and still had time to spare. He decided to go see Hinata one more time before he leaves the village for however long he may end up be gone. He didn't think going straight to the Hyuga estate was a good idea at the time. If Hinata's father somehow found out about what happened last night, he'd probably have Naruto's head on a pike and kept as a trophy. He thought it was best to find Neji and ask him, or find someone who knows where Neji is. He assumed that Tenten would be with him, so he went looking for her. With luck, he found her training with Neji, and Lee was sitting asidewatching it all. 

"Hey Neji!" Naruto called.

Neji and Tenten stopped sparring and turned to Naruto.

"What's up Naruto?" Tenten asked with a smile.

"I'm looking for Hinata. I'm gonna be leaving for a mission to get my eyes back." Naruto said, "I was hoping Neji might know where she is."

"She went to shop for food." Neji said, "She said something about replacing the tomatoes."

"Alright." Naruto said, "Thanks." He turned around and saw Lee sitting on the grass, holding his knee. "What's up with him?"

"He broke his leg when he spared with me." Tenten giggled.

"He lost his focus when Sakura came by." Neji said.

"You would stop whatever you were doing if you saw someone beautiful walk by." Lee retorted.

Naruto walked towards Lee and kneeled down, "Let me see that. Bend your knee and straighten it." Lee did as asked, after straightening the knee after bending it, he grabbed his knee again in pain.

"It's not broken." Naruto said, "But if you don't go get it treated soon, it will be." He pointed to Lee's knee, " The joint at the knee is slightly dislodged, I'm guessing Tenten must've hit you there. Just get a doctor to readjust it and you'll be fine."

"How did you know?" Lee asked.

"Chakra." Naruto answered, "I use chakra to project it in waves. Whatever it comes in contact with, I can see it with the chakra."

"You mean like a bat?" Tenten asked.

"Pretty much." Naruto said. "The chakra is even able to pick up soundwaves. That's how I was able to tell that Lee's knee was fine."

"Thank you Naruto." Lee said, "You've been a great help to me. May the Fire of the Youth help you find your eyes."

"Eh...right..." Naruto got up, "I'll see you guys when I get back." He ran off to find Hinata at the shopping district of the village. "Seeya!"

* * *

Hinata was walking through the busy shopping district of Konoha, with a paper bag of tomatoes in her arms. She always enjoyed doing things on her own, it made her feel like she was providing alot for home. 

"Hinata!" Naruto ran after her from behind, "Hinata!"

She turned around when she heard someone calling her name. "Naruto-kun..."

"Neji told me I'd find you here." Naruto smiled, "I have a mission in less than half an hour, so I wanted to say good-bye before I left."

"Oh really?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be off to get my eyes back." Naruto said, "I don't know how long I might be gone, so I wanted you to know that I won't be in the village for a while. Oh, and thanks for the sword." Naruto patted the katana that was strapped behind him. "You didn't really have to do this for me."

"I felt like I should." Hinata said, "I knew you would like it."

Naruto didn't see the need to argue with her. If this was how Hinata wanted to show how much she cared about him, then he shouldn't stop her. "I'll make it up to you when I get back. We'll go have a nice dinner, not at Ichiraku, somewhere better."

"Ok." Hinata smiled, I'll be waiting for you."

"Alright." Naruto smiled back, "I better get back, or I might be late." He leaned forward to kiss Hinata, but a sudden force pulled him back. "What the..."

Sakura was grabbing onto the collar of Naruto's shirt and dragging him. "I knew you would be no where near the gates at this time. The least you could have improved on during your training was being at places on time."

"Thanks for ruining a good moment Sakura." Naruto mumbled.

"What did you say?!" Sakura asked with her free hand held in a fist, "Did you just call me something?"

"No, no! Nothing at all." Naruto said, waving his hands in front of his face, hoping to be spared from her punch, "I was just talking to myself."

"Well, get up." Sakura lifted him up onto his feet, "I'm not gonna drag you all the way to the gates."

"Fine." Naruto wiped the dirt off the bottom of his pants. "Let's go."

* * *

**You guys are probably wondering why I haven't mentioned Akatsuki for a while. Well, I couldn't find a way to fit their plot into the story, so I pushed them back to the sequel. Right now, I'm dealing with Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Naruto(well, more like Kyuubi).**


	23. A Mission for the Lost Eyes

**Naruto's new katana is only there because Sasuke has the Kusanagi.**

**I've also recieved pms from people saying how they think Naruto is having too many special talents. I'll admit, it may seem like alot; telekinesis, invisibility, almost on X-ray like vision, a chakra-powered sword, but what the hell? Look at Sasuke; Cursed Seal that can make him fly. Chidori and those many abilities that stem from it, his Sharingan, the Kusanagi. I think Naruto's powers are on par with Sasuke. I was planning on giving him the Hiraishin no Jutsu, but I thought that it would have been too much.**

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* * *

**

Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo stood outside of a cave. They all looked into the cave to wait for anything to suspicious. After a while, Sasuke walked out of the cave.

"Well?" Karin asked, "Did you kill him?"

"It wasn't him." Sasuke answered, "It was just a Bunshin." Sasuke sheathed his sword back. "Looks like we still have a lot to do."

"Why don't we go to Orochimaru's hideout?" Suigetsu saked, "I'm sure he has some stuff about Akatsuki. He might have stuff on where they gather."

"Why go to him?" Karin asked.

"It'll save time." Suigetsu said, "And that way I can stop seeing you 24/7."

"Why you..." Karin prepared to punch the large sword wielding teen.

"Stop." Sasuke commanded, "We've been searching for Itachi for over three years now. All we've been following were clues that I had. I think Suigetsu might have a point. Let's use Orochimaru's clues to find him."

"Well, we're in the Wind Country." Karin said, "There should be one of his hideouts near the border between the forest and the desert."

"Good, we'll start there." Sasuke said, "Karin, you lead the way. Jugo, keep in contact with those birds."

"What about me?" Suigetsu asked.

"Keep your mouth shut for the trip." Karen said.

* * *

The team gathered around a fire that was set up for the night. Kakashi poked at the fire with a stick to keep it burning brightly. While Kiba was sleeping comfortably using Akamaru as a pillow, Sakura and Naruto prepared their sleeping bags. 

"I think I'm gonna go off now." Naruto said, getting up from the ground.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

Naruto unsheathed the katana, "I need to work on this thing." He walked in the dark forest, disappearing in the shadows.

Sakura sat back down by the fire, warming herself from the heat. Kakashi noticed how she was looking upset, but chose to ignore it. For over an hour, Kakashi and Sakura didn't say anything, and Naruto hadn't returned. He was probably very dedicated to mastering the katana.

"I know you're worried about Naruto, Sakura." Kakashi said, breaking the silence.

"I just wish I could be of more help to him." Sakura said,, after a few seconds. "If only I knew a way to help him suppress the Kyuubi, he wouldn't be in so much trouble." She remembered back when she first witnessed the horrible sight of Naruto's power of Kyuubi. Seeing him coated in the chakra, with the three tails was frightening enough, but seeing the fourth tail, it made her gringe in fear. "I just hope I can find a way to help him eventually. Maybe in a few years, I can create a jutsu that can be as helpful as Captain Yamato's jutsu."

_A few years?_ Kakashi objected to saying what was in his mind, but thought it was best to tell her, seeing as how she cared so much about him, "Sakura, you may not have a few years."

"What?"

"I wasn't planning on telling you, but you would have eventually found out anyways." Kakashi said, "What you know about the Kyuubi is that it gives Naruto an extremely large amount of power. But what you don't know is that it does more than just hurt him in return." He remembered Jiraiya's words on his experience with Naruto and the Kyuubi, "Everytime Naruto becomes the four-tailed beast, the chakra burns his skin, damaging his cells. The Kyuubi's healing regenerates the cells, forming a cycle of damage and repair. Because of this rapid process, Naruto's lifespan is shortened."

Sakura threw a hadn to her mouth as she gasped, "His...lifespan..."

"After what happened at Suna, I went to Tsunade to ask about his condition." Kakashi continued. He didn't know how else to say his next words carefully, "Naruto probably won't live past 40. If he taps into the Kyuubi's power once more, he may even die in the next few years."

"No..." Sakura couldn't hold back her tears. She couldn't control herself, she got up and ran to where Naruto had disappeared off to, "Naruto!"

* * *

"Come on..." Naruto concentrated hard, holding the katana tightly. A blue wave of chakra formed on the blade, slowly getting straighter at where the sharp side is meant to be. "A little more..." As he concentrated his wind chakra into the blade, it finally straightened. He looked towards a tree that was left with many dents on it, all from Naruto, testing how strong his wind chakra is in the katana. He ran towards the tree and sliced at it. At the instace the chakra met with the wood, a large explosion came from the impact and threw Naruto back. "Dammit. Still not sharp enough." He looked back at what Asuma told him about making wind chakra stronger, _Split the chakra in two and bring the parts together to form a tight edge._ He repeated the words in his mind as he concentrated once more. 

"Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto looked to where the voice was coming from. _That sounded like Sakura._ Before long, Sakura had emerged from the shadows. The moonlight reflected the tears that were flying off her face. _Why is she crying?_

Sakura ran towards Naruto, not stopping until she reached him. She then reached out and wrapped her arms around him, and began to cry even more. "Why? Why did you have to be like this?"

"Sakura, what's going on?" Naruto asked, utterly confused at the moment. The sudden force of Sakura jumping into his arms had him drop the katana.

Sakura pulled herself away to look at Naruto straight in the eyes, "Why did the Kyuubi have to be sealed in you? Why do you have to suffer for it?" She wiped the tears from her eyes, "Kakashi-sensei told me everything about the Kyuubi. He told me how its hurting you, how its shortened your lifespan, how you might die soon."

"Sakura..."

Sakura looked down at his hands and saw how damaged they were, "Naruto..." He took his hands and brought them closer for her view.

"I'll be fine." Naruto said. Before their eyes, the hands slowly healed and left it with a markless hand. "See?" He kneeled down and picked up the katana, "You should go back and get some sleep. I'll be there later."

Sakura sniffed and wiped the remaining tears off her eyes, "Alright." She turned and walked back, but stopped abruptly. "Naruto, I've never had simblings before and I never knew what it felt like to have one." She turned around to face him, "You were the first person that I was able to see as family."

Naruto smiled at this, "All the more reason for me to keep fighting."

"Good night, Naruto." Sakura smiled. She headed back to the campsite, disappearing in the shadows of the trees.

Naruto focused his attention on his katana again. _A reason to keep fighting._ He promised Sakura that he would bring Sasuke back home, he promised her that and he would never turn back on his promise. He charged the blade with wind chakra, forming it into a sharp aura of blue. He looked back at the tree that had many small dents around it. He ran towards the tree with the will to attack. _If I plan to keep my promise, I need to be strong!_ He swung the blade and sliced at the tree. Strangely, it left no mark. _Did I miss?_ He looked at the tree for a closer examination, suddenly, the tree began to shift out of place. The top of the tree slid off the trunk and fell over. "Wow..." Naruto looked at the slice he made on the tree that caused the fall. He threw his hand up in the air, holding his katana high in the night sky, "YATTA!"

* * *

Team Snake was now walking through a forest, staying close. 

"How much farther?" Suigetsu asked.

"Not much further." Karin answered, irritated that she had answered that question for the 30th time since they made the hideout their next destination. "We won't even be in there for long. We just need to go in, get the info we need, and get out."

"There may be trouble when we get there." Sasuke said.

The others stopped in their tracks. "Why?" Jugo asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke answered, "He's still blind. That hideout is where Orochimaru kept his eyes. If he knows about that, he'll probably be there."

"So, you mean we might get a chance to see him?" Suigetsu asked.

"Let's hope not." Sasuke said, "If we find him there, I'll go alone."

* * *

"That's the place." Pakkun said, "There's a doorway hidden under that tree. You'll have to find a way to get in." 

The team gathered behind a bush as they looked at a tree that Pakkun pointed out. It looked like any ordinary tree, nothing that gave away the fact that it was the device to open the doorway to the hideout.

"Thank you Pakkun." Kakashi said, "That'll be all for now."

"Well, in that case, I'll be off." Pakkun said, "Seeya." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"We'll have to find a way to get in without being seen." Kakashi said.

"I can handle that." Naruto said, "I can get us in through there without getting caught, we just need to stay in physical contact with eachother."

"But how do we get in?" Sakura asked, "Orochimaru probably used some sort of seal."

"You can always break it down." Kakashi suggested, "And if Naruto is right, they won't be able to notice us."

Sakura huffed in defeat, she had hoped that this would be a quiet, easy mission, but with the use of her strength, things might end up more difficult if there were sound-nin inside. She approuched the tree that was the entrance to the hideout, preparing for one of her strong-powered punches. She charged at the tree, swinging her arm back, preparing to unleash the large burst of chakra. She launched her fist forward and connected with the tree. The powerful force ripped the tree off its roots and out of the way. As Pakkun had said, the entrance was hidden by the tree. Where the tree used to be, a stairway was hidden, which led to a tunnel.

"This is it." Kakashi said. He turned to Naruto, "You ready?"

"Ok, everybody, hang onto me and don't let go." Naruto said. Kiba and Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and Kiba kept his extra hand on Akamaru. Sakura held onto Naruto's hand. "Alright." Naruto took a deep breath and concentrated. He focused all his chakra to extend out to the others, covering them with his invisibility. Before long, they all faded from view. "Let's go."

Only the sound of footsteps were heard, which were the footsteps of the Konoha shinobi, entering the hideout.

* * *

"Take it slow." Kakashi whispered, "We don't want any mistakes."

An empty hall was where they were, except it remained empty with them being invisible. As they went through doors and turned past corners, they avoided sound-nins as safely as possible. Further down the place, they saw two sound-nin in the hall. They thought it was best to go another way, but when they made a turn to go back, Kiba lost his footing from bumping into Sakura and fell. With his contact on Naruto broken, he was now in plain sight.

"Hey, how did he get in here?" A sound-asked, noticing Kiba.

"No use in hiding now." Naruto said. He pulled himself away from the grip of the others and they all reappeared into sight. He drew out his katana and charged up the blade with his wind chakra. "Come and get it."

The sound-nin attacked the Konoha shinobi. Each of them held their ground against their enemies. With their training and experience in battle, they knew that sparing their lives was not an option. They needed to make sure they stayed down, so killing was the only option. While the others relied on kunais, Naruto used his wind powered katana to make the killing blows. Even after killing so many sound-nin, they just kept coming.

"Everyone, get behind me!" Kakashi called out. He put his hands together to make three animal seals. The seals formed a large body of electricity in Kakashi's right hand. "Quickly."

Everyone ran back and gathered behind their team leader. With the team now a perfect place away from him, Kakashi ran forward to unleash his powerful jutsu.

"_Raikiri_!" Kakashi's attack cut through all that stood in his way. Each of the sound-nin were thrown back by the blow and their blood spilled on the walls and floor.

Naruto watched the whole attack in amazement, "Genious..."

"Huh?" Kiba heard Naruto's mutter.

"Kakashi knew that this would work. He knew that the attack would clear the way for us." Naruto said, "He created the Raikiri as his own jutsu. The attack is meant for the user to run fast in a straight line, preventing them from looking nowhere else except forward. And since where in a narrow hallway, he doesn't need to look anywhere else, his target can't go anywhere except directly in front of him."

With the last of the sound-nin down. Kakashi stood at the end of the hall with the electricity on his hand fading away. "Let's keep moving."

"Right." The others ran towards Kakashi as they went further into the hideout and closer to finding Naruto's eyes.

They walked deeper into the place, searching each room for any sign of Naruto's eyes, but each room gave them nothing. As they went further down, Naruto stopped the group.

"Wait." Naruto pressed his hand on the wall and amplified his chakra into it. Through his sense of 'sight' his chakra laced through the walls, floors, and ceiling. The chakra reached far off and showed an anomally at the corner ahead of them. "We've got sound-nin coming this way. I'll deal with this." He walked ahead to the corner and took out his katana. He waited patiently for the sound-nin to get close enough. Once he heard their footsteps in perfect range, he attacked; he spun around and stabbed the first sound-nin and pushed him back to knock down the others. As the sound-nin attempted to surround him, Naruto kicked them all back. Continuing to push ahead, he made a large thrust that forced the stabbed sound-nin to fall back. The two slammed into a door and broke through. Naruto got off of the dead sound-nin and looked around. He found himself in a room with many strange equipment. He looked ahead and saw what was on a table there. In a large jar, he saw two small orbs floating around in the container filled with liquid.

"Naruto!" Sakura arrived on the scene, "Are you alright?" She saw what Naruto was looking at and she too was surprised.

The others came to the room to see what happened. They all had saw taht Naruto's eyes had finally been found.

"This is it!" Naruto smiled in victory, "I found them!"

"Stop!" A sound-nin stood between Naruto and the table. He pulled out a kunai against Naruto.

"Get out of my way." Naruto demanded. He pulled out his katana, "I'll let you live if you just move."

"You won't get past me." The sound-nin said, "Not even if you kill me."

"Fine." Naruto lifted his katana up, preparing for a mid-level swipe.

Kakashi quickly noticed something on the sound-nin. Under the uniform, there were many things underneath the clothes. "Naruto! Stop!"

It was too late. The blade had met with the flesh and the sound-nin fell to the floor in defeat. Naruto sheathed his sword back and stood over his enemy. What he didn't expect, was that the sound-nin started to laugh, "What's so funny?"

The sound-nin still laughed, "You are one stupid shit. You know that?" Struggling through the pain, he removed his shirt revealing what was underneath his clothes. All over his body were explosive tags. "Looks like you'll all be dead with me." He closed his eyes as he triggered the tags. A large explosion erupted the room, followed by fire and dust flying all over the place. Naruto quickly moved back away from serious damage.

"Get out of here!" Kakashi yelled.

Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru quickly bolted out the door and towards the exit. Kakashi was on his way out, but noticed that Naruto was still in his place. Naruto was trying to find a way to get to his eyes, trying to get past the fire. As Kakashi ran towards him, more rumbling occured, _There must be explosive tags laced throughout the whole hideout._ He saw that Naruto was not going anywhere. "We have to go!" Kakashi ordered.

"Not without my eyes!" Naruto yelled back. He found himself an opening through the fire and took the chance, but Kakashi grabbed Naruto and carried him off. "Let me go!" He forced himself to get loose of Kakashi's grip, but had no luck.

"I'm not going to leave you here!" Kakashi ran off to reach the exit. Debris flew around from the multiple explosions that came out of the walls, but he avoided them all in time to stay away from serious injuries.

* * *

Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru waited outside the hideout for their two teammates. Sakura held her hands together, praying that they would come out safely. She then saw two figures come out of the hole in the ground. Kakashi and Naruto bursted out of the darkness and away from the opening. A sudden large explosion erupted from the hole and comsumed it with fire. 

Naruto got on his feet and saw what had happened. He ran towards the fire, but another explosion stopped him in his tracks. He covered his face with his hands, waiting for the fire to die down, but it never did. "NO!!" Naruto threw his sword down to the ground in fury. He kneeled before the large pyre that was made from the destruction of the hideout. It was now gone. His eyes were gone. Now he was to forever live his life without the colors of the world. Everything around him would now seem lifeless to him. He pounded his fist on the grass in fury, failing his mission. But when he slammed his fists for the last time, he felt something out of place. He struck a large clump of dirt. He ran his fingertps through the dirt, noticing that it was fresh and not natural, which meant that someone recently dug into the ground. He began to dig into the dirt, wondering what was under.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura asked. She got no response as Naruto kept digging, "Naruto."

"Its here." Naruto said. He slowly pulled out a large jar that was buried in the dirt.

"Is that..." Kiba looked at the jar and the contents inside.

Naruto looked in astonishment at his treasure. He had finally found it, after three years, what was once his is finally back in his possession. He had finally found his eyes.

* * *

**Its about time I made it to this point in the story. Anyways, there won't be any downsides to Naruto's eyes returning to him. No, there won't be any problems with him putting the eyes back in his face. The next chapter, he'll have his eyes planted back in and that's the end. The whole issue wiht his eyes is over.**


	24. Lifespan

**Its about time I brought back Naruto's eyes. This marks as a checkpoint in my story, meanign that I accomplished one of the main plots of the many I had in this story. So far, I accomplished;**

**Naruto's struggle with the Kyuubi revealed.  
Naruto and Hinata's first kiss.  
and finally, Naruto's eyes found.**

**I've still got a few more checkpoints to reach, but you'll know what they are when it comes to it.**

**Anyways, please enjoy reading and review.

* * *

**

Kakashi, Kiba, and Akamaru sat outside the tent with the fire to keep them warm. Inside the tent, Sakura was in the middle of planting Naruto's eyes back in. Since she's never done something like this before, she needed to take as much time as she could and use exact precision. Its been an hour now and the two of them haven't left the tent yet.

"You sure Sakura can do this?" Kiba asked.

"I trust her." Kakashi said, "She'll do her best, knowing that its for Naruto."

Moments later, the tent opened up and Sakura came out. She turned back and gently pulled out Naruto who was still wearing his blindfold. "Watch your step Naruto."

"What's wrong?" Kiba asked, "I thought he can see."

"Well, when I put his eyes back in, he suddenly wasn't able to see through chakra anymore." Sakura answered. She reached up and removed the blindfold off of Naruto's face, "Naruto, can you see me?"

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. When he did, he saw a very blurry image in front of him, but there was light, there was colour, there was life.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked again, "Can you see me?"

Naruto paused briefly. "...yes..."

* * *

Hinata woke up to a bright sun that shine through her bedroom window. She had already washed up, and was looking outside. Something about the sunlight made her feel that something good had happened. She looked at the clock on her wall and knew that it was now time for breakfast. She left her room and made her way to meet the rest of her family for breakfast.

* * *

Team Snake had gathered in the forest, sitting around waiting for Sasuke's return. He was gone for quite a while, it seemed like hours. He then appeared from the shadows of the trees.

"Where have you been?" Karin asked.

"I told you to not worry." Sasuke bluntly answered.

"So, how did it go?" Suigetsu asked. "Did you find anything?"

"No." Sasuke responded, "The hideout is gone."

"What? What do you mean 'gone'?" Karin asked.

"Its blown away." Sasuke said. "I'm guessing Naruto and his team got there before me."

"Then why don't we take them out?" Suigetsu asked. He held onto the handle of his sword, which was resting on the grass next to him, "I haven't killed anything for a long time."

"No!" Sasuke snapped, "We move now."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons." Sasuke answered, "Now let's go. I don't want to run into Naruto right now."

"With the hideout now in flames, we're gonna have to find another place for clues." Karen said, "We could always try the one where you found Suigetsu."

"Isn't that gonna be a far walk from here?" Suigetsu groaned. He took another sip of his drink.

"If that's the case, then lets move." Sasuke ordered.

"But wait, why didn't we look around there before we ever left?" Suigetsu asked.

"Because I needed to find Karin and Jugo." Sasuke answered. He patted the handle of his chokuto lightly, "Anymore questions?"

Suigetsu cringed slightly. He wasn't intimidated by Sasuke before, what makes him scared now? The team got up and followed Sasuke through the forest, to the direction of another one of Orochimaru's hideouts.

* * *

Sakura got out of her sleeping bag and saw that Naruto was on a tree branch, looking up at the sky. His shirt was hanging at the end of the branch as well as his forehead protector. Sakura went up to the tree and jumped up to join Naruto. Once she was at the same level as Naruto, she noticed that he wasn't wearing his black shirt. All he had was his pants and sandals. On a branch nearby, his shirt hanged on with his foreherad protector and his orange sash. 

"Naruto?" Sakura called for his attention, "Are you alright?"

Naruto had been looking around the place for the entire time since he woke up. Everything around him brought back the memories of colours and the beauty of the world. The colour of the trees, the grass, the sky, his own skin. "I can finally see again." Naruto smiled as he looked up at the blue sky. "I almost forgot what the sky looked like." He then looked over to Sakura, "I can finally see the pink in your hair. Now I'll be able to see Hinata in true colours again."

"Well, I'm sure Hinata would be happy to know that." Sakura said. "Which is why we should get back to Konoha as quickly as possible."

Hinata, he would finally be able to see her again, not through chakra projection, through his own two eyes. He could picture the look on Hinata's face when she sees him with his eyes back. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of how Hinata would be to see Naruto back to his old self again. "Yeah, I guess." Naruto smiled at Sakura.

"And put a shirt on." Sakura smiled back and giggled softly.

"Fine." Naruto looked over to wear his shirt was resting and extended a hand out, but what he was confused about was that his shirt wasn't moving towards him. "What gives?"

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Look." Naruto reached out to pulled his shirt towards him with his chakra, but nothing happened. "Why is nothing happening?"

"Maybe we should ask Kakashi-sensei about it right away." Sakura said.

"Then let's hurry back and tell him." Naruto leaned forward and grabbed his shirt. It seemed like too much of an effort to move closer to the target then to bring the target towards him. Maybe he's been using that technique too many times, maybe he's getting lazy. He crawled over to the branch and grabbed the remainder of his clothes.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Kakashi said with sympathy, "I really don't know what the problem is." Naruto had just explained the issue with his lack of techniques. Kakashi, of course was curious as to why Naruto suddenly lost one of his many self obtained techniques. "Let's head back to Konoha. Maybe Tsunade-sama might have some answers for you." 

"Yeah, maybe." Naruto said. "Hey wait, where's Kiba? And Akamaru?"

Kakashi suddenly realized that he didn't notice it either. "I...don't know. I thought he was with me."

Kiba and Akamaru then arrived from the forest, panting for air.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. "Where have you two been?"

Kiba continued to breathe heavily, "Akamaru ran off, following a scent." He paused to catch his breath some more, "I followed him and also noticed the scent."

"What scent?" Kakashi asked.

"I think it's Sasuke's." Kiba responded after another few short breaths.

* * *

Hinata had finished her breakfast and was on her way back to her bedroom. She remembered that she was to meet with Shino for training later today, but she still had time to prepare. She looked at a picture of Naruto that she had on her nightstand. It was in a frame with a glass cover over the picture. She never really got it herself, or from Naruto, she actually asked Kiba to try and get a picture of Naruto for her. It was when she was 13, she was still very shy around him. Naruto still had his child-like smile, but it still made her feel so warm inside. She picked up the picture and held it in her hand.

* * *

Team Snake continued with their journey through the forest. While they walked, Karin stopped. The others stopped when they noticed Karin wasn't with them.

"What's wrong now?" Sasuke asked.

"Someone's coming." Karin said, "There's four people and a dog coming this way."

"How far are they?" Sasuke asked.

"Not too far." Karin answered.

Suigetsu pulled out the sword from his back in delight, "Perfect, a fight. I can finally kill something again."

"No!" Sasuke commanded. "Just keep going. We'll try and lose them."

Jugo suddenly started to go through his killing impulses again. "Urge...to kil...rising..."

"Jugo Stop!" Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but a sudden grab on his shoulders stopped him from doing anything more.

"We have to go." Karin said.

"What about Jugo?" Suigetsu asked.

"Leave him!" Karin pulled Sasuke along as Suigetsu regretably followed. Jugo was now left alone to lose himself to his killing urge.

* * *

As Hinata held the picture, the glass suddenly cracked. She looked at this in confusion. She didn't put any force on the picture, why did the glass crack all of a sudden? She wasn't the kind of person who believed omens or luck, she simply assumed that the glass was weak and that a small amount of pressure from her hands caused the crack.

* * *

"I can sense it, we should be getting close." Kiba said. He led the team to Sasuke's scent, "Stay close."

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura followed closely behind Kiba and Akamaru. When they heard Kiba saying he picked up the familiar scent of Sasuke, they had him pick it up so he can follow it. What they didn't expect was to meet with Jugo on the way. While the team was still far off, Jugo prepared for his prey.

"A girl? No, a boy." Jugo contemplated with himself, "No wait, a girl. Girls are easier to kill. No, but boys are more fun to kill." Without Sasuke to help him, he couldn't control himself from killing people. "Karin said a dog was with them. Maybe after killing them, I'll eat the dog." As he heard their footsteps closer, he debated on his choice, "A girl, if its a girl, I kill her."

"We're getting closer to something." Kiba said, "I think its Sasuke."

Sakura couldn't hold in her impulse to see Sasuke again. She bolted past Kiba and Akamaru and ran in front of them, wanting to be the firtr person to see Sasuke again. When she ran past a tree, she wasn't to pleased to see someone else in his place. This other person was Jugo.

"Like I said, I'd kill a girl." Jugo screamed with a psychotic laugh, "Sucks to be you!" The left side of his body was now covered in his transformation. His left arm changed into what appeared to be a large hammer. He ran towards Sakura, swinging his left arm high up ready to drop it.

Sakura quickly jumped out of the way of the giant hammer arm. The slam caused a giant crater on the ground and a large dust cloud. Naruto, Kakashi, Kiba, and Akamaru stopped in their tracks when the sudden attack rumbled throughout the forest. Jugo went for another swing with his hammer, but Sakura's speed saved her life after each swing.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto asked, staring at Jugo in shock.

Jugo made another swing with his giant hammer arm. This time, he knocked at a tree with his swing. Sakura blocked the tree, but because of this, she was hit by the hammer. Sakura fell to the ground from the hit, grabbing her left arm in pain.

"Jugo stood over Sakura, with his diabolical grin and partially transformed body, "Bye-bye." He said with a gleeful tone. He raised his giant hammer arm up, ready to flatten her down.

Sakura closed her eyes and waited for her death, but the sudden grunt of someone made her open her eyes. She looked up and saw Naruto standing over her, holding the hammer up. Naruto strained hard to keep the hammer from crushing him and Sakura.

"Leave Sakura alone." Naruto growled, "Or I'll rip you apart."

Sakura stayed on the ground, right underneath Naruto as he forced the hammer up. Jugo's strength was powerful, and with the weight of the hammer, it all seemed to be against Naruto.

"Sakura, get up." Naruto said.

"But Naruto, you..." Sakura knew that Naruto had no chance against Jugo. She felt the pain from his hammer swing and was lucky that it wasn't a complete hit, otherwise, she would be dead. She watched helplessly as Naruto was holding the hammer up, but she refused to remain helpless. She got on her knees and lunged right by Naruto and punched Jugo right at his thigh. The immense chakra in the punch forced Jugo to stumble. Naruto quickly steped back to keep away from Jugo's hammer.

"You bitch!" Jugo grabbed his thigh in pain, but fought through it as he got up. "I'm definitely gonna kill you for that!"

"NO!" Naruto roared loudly. A large burst came out of his body and knocked over everyone around him. All the trees that were surrounding him bent back from the force. When everythin settled, Naruto stood with a burning coat of chakra, forming two tails behind him.

"Naruto..." Sakura knew that this led to trouble. Jugo was indeed a strong opponent, and if Naruto was pushed to far, he may tap into the Kyuubi's power even more and go into a transformation beyond the four tails. If he did, his lifespan would shorten even more.

Naruto growled deeply as he stared at Jugo. He prepared for a lunge, but he suddenly stopped at the scream of someone.

"Naruto Don't!" Sakura screamed. He looked back to her, she was on her knees and crying. "Please, don't use the Kyuubi." She knew that if Naruto went any further in his anger, the Kyuubi would take complete control over him again. He would lose himself to the beast. She cried more, knowing that Naruto was willing to risk his life to save her and the others.

For the first time in his life, Naruto showed a sense of sadness from under the cloak of the Kyuubi. Everytime he's tapped into the Kyuubi's power, he always appeared angry and ruthless, this was the first time he has ever shown an emotion aside from anger. Naruto's mind was still conscious in his two-tailed state, he knew why Sakura was crying, but he couldn't stop for her. He knew that he had to rely on Kyuubi, to risk his life and possibly die, for fate was never too kind to him. He charged at Jugo, he threw up his arm to defend himself. The immense pressure Naruto sent at Jugo forced Jugo to slid on the ground as Naruto kept pushing through.

"You're strong brat." Jugo said, "But you'll need more to stop me." He pulled his arm back and swung it vertically. The giant hammer hit Naruto and sent him flying across the forest, disappearing in the trees. His attention turned back to Sakura, "Now, where was I?"

Before he could strike another killing blow, a large shockwave emited through the trees, ripping them all off from their roots. The shockwave came in repetitive times, forcing everyone to hold their ground. Jugo slammed his hammer arm on the ground to keep him from moving. Kakashi, Kiba, and Sakura pinned a kunai to the ground to stay in their spot. Akamaru clawed into the dirt to stay in place. Once the shockwaves stopped, all that was left was a barren field with no sign of green.

Jugo looked up and saw that Naruto was still alive from the hit. "Still alive?" But what he saw now was a beast that was completely covered in what was coloured like blood.

"No..." Kakashi witnessed what was before them all. Naruto has reached his four-tail state once more.

"YOUR FANCY TRICKS DON'T SCARE ME!!!" Jugo ran at the beast, slowly changing his hammer arm into a giant axe.

As Jugo came running at the four-tailed fox, it zipped past him and appeared behind the raging monster. Jugo quickly turned around to strike at the tailed beast. With his large bladed arm, he swiped. The fox grabbed the blade with its hands and a struggle took place. With Jugo trying to land a hit and the fox trying to move the blade aside. Deep inside the fox's mind, Naruto was in a struggle. With his power to try and control the fox, but the Kyuubi's power to pour out as much power as possible. Eventually, the power of Kyuubi overwhelmed Naruto, more power came out. From the four tails that the fox had, each of them split into two, giving off a total of eight tails. The fox roared so loudly that the ground around them all began to rumble. Jugo staggered back from it and was met with a swipe in the face by one of the eight tails.

"No...Naruto..." Sakura looked with a heavy heart when the fox took over Naruto's body once more. She knew that this could possibly be the last straw before Naruto's lifespan came to its end.

The fox looked around for Jugo, but he was nowhere to be seen. All that was left was a large hole where Jugo fell. Suddenly, from below, Jugo came out and made a swipe with his axe hand, but the fox dodged the blow and landed another hit at Jugo with one of its tails. Jugo flew back and landed hard on the ground. As the eight-tailed beast marched to it's targets, a sudden jolt of a strange feeling came upon it. In an instant, the blood red chakra slowly faded away. It almost appeared as if Naruto managed to force the chakra back inside. Beneath the chakra was Naruto's burnt body, which slowly healed as the chakra faded. He looked at his body in question.

"What..." The same sudden jolt came back, but this time, it hurt him. Naruto grabbed his chest in pain. "What's...happening?"

Jugo, who was still on his rampage, stopped to see what had happened. The eight-tailed fox was now gone, leaving Naruto in its place.

"Naruto?" Sakura was surprised by how Naruto was able to force the chakra back, but was concerned when Naruto was grabbing his chest in pain.

Naruto fell on his knees as the pain was getting worse in him. His blue eyes slowly changed into the red slit eyes. "C**ongratulations brat.**" A darker, more sinister voice came out of Naruto's lips. His head tilted back as if he was looking up to the sky. "**Your lifespan's been depleted.**"

"What?" Kakashi asked in question, "It can't be."

Naruto's eyes changed back into being blue. His body fell limp, his hand fell off from grabbing his chest and he fell to the ground, facefirst. Sakura had finally realized that Naruto strength wasn't the reason for the suppression of the Kyuubi's chakra. "Naruto!!" Sakura screamed.

Everyone who had witnessed the sight was clear in realization; Uzumaki Naruto was dead.

* * *

**Well, done with that.**

**That concludes the story...just kidding.**

**To make it clear, Naruto _is_ dead, but that doesn't mean he's going to stay dead. Afterall, he's got the Kyuubi. Just be patient and wait for what I'm gonna do with him.**


	25. My Life To Live

**Well, I did say that Naruto wasn't going to stay dead, So this is the next chapter with info on how he survives.**

**I'm gonna be honest with you, I didn't think I would have this chapter up so soon. I hit a big writer's block in a specific idea, but found one after flipping through some movies at home. You'll just have to read on to see what that idea is.**

**Please remember to review, and enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Naruto knew very well where he was. The sewage scenery was familiar to him for he occasionally came here. He was in the darkest corner of his mind, where his original form resided. Only this time, he wasn't there.

"Why?" He asked, knowing that despite not having a physical presence, Kyuubi was with him. He didn't need to sense the chakra, he was able to almost physically feel Kyuubi's presence around him. Similar to that strange feeling people get just before the clouds cover the sky and cause a rainstorm, Naruto's feeling of Kyuubi's presence was like the feeling before a storm. "Why am I here?"

**You're weak, brat.** the familar voice boomed, **I should kill you right now for your lack of power.**

Suddenly, the sewer began to fill up with a familar orange bubbly essence that took form of the giant fox. This form was not new to Naruto, he had seen worse coming from Kyuubi, this was now something he was used to, considering the fact he had Kyuubi in him for his entire life.

"Well, that's not for you to decide." Naruto said, "Its my body that's keeping us alive."

**"That may be true, but the mind is still up for grabs."** Kyuubi replied.

"My mind?" Naruto asked.

**"We both inhabit the same body, but our minds are still two different entities; me, the original form of our life. And then there's you, the reincarnation. You can call it a duel personality almost. Make sense?"** Kyuubi spoke in an irritated tone. It was like teaching a child something new.

"Yeah." Naruto thought back to past events, when he fought Sasuke at the Valley of the End, he remembered losing his mind to the Kyuubi. Then there was the time Naruto lost himself again during their mission to rescue Gaara. It all began to connect and make sense to him.

**"Everytime your emotions got the better of you, I managed to leak though into your brain, but its because of the seal that I can't take complete control. Though whenever I did take control, I was easily suppressed."** Slowly, the Kyuubi began to shrink down to size and into a humanoid form. Once the orange essence faded, an exact duplicate of Naruto stood there. "**But this time, I decided to make my control complete. I will kill you in our own mind and be the permanent host of this body."**

"But how? You're dead." Naruto said, "You have no life."

**"Not true. You see, I wasn't killed, I was merely defeated. You can never kill a youma and I still had a large lifespan left. Because I was sealed before my lifespan was up, I have what you could call an 'unused lifespan'."** Kyuubi began to explain, **"Once I get this body, that 'unused lifespan' can be 'used lifespan'."**

"No!" Naruto yelled back, "I won't let you! I'll kill you if I have to!"

**"Haha, you still amuse me to no end." **Kyuubi drew out his katana. The wind chakra formed the sharp blade on the blade, but for Kyuubi's katana, the wind chakra was a dark red colour. **"You have no chance of beating me, but let's put it like this; if I win, you die, and I take this body of yours. If you win, which you won't, you can keep the body and you can do whatever you want with me. You can kill me, strengthen the seal, anything."** Kyuubi spun his katana around, taunting Naruto with a foxy grin of evil delight, **"And just for the fun of it. If you _do_ beat me, I'll give you my 'unused lifespan'."**

"Why?" Naruto asked. He knew that Kyuubi was just playing with him now."Why do that?"

**"For the fun of it."** Kyuubi grinned, **"Even if you did kill me, you'd still be dead with no more life in you. I'm just offering you my lifespanfor thezero percent possibility of beating me."**

Naruto took his defensive stance, holding his katana in front of him and charging it with his blue wind chakra. The two stood, facing eachother and waiting for the other to make a move. Kyuubi struck first with a slash, but Naruto quickly blocked it. Kyuubi then swung again, but Naruto blocked each blow. 

"This is my life." Naruto said, "You had your chance. I won't let you ruin mine." Everything Naruto has was something he didn't want to lose. His friends, especially Hinata, were the only things that kept him going. He didn't want to lose any of them.

**"Oh and why not? Don't want me to hurt the poor Hyuga girl?"** Kyuubi laughed.

"Shut Up!" Naruto slashed at Kyuubi with his katana, but Kyuubi jumped out of the way.

The two engaged in their duel for possession. Naruto wasn't willing to give up his life for Kyuubi to destroy the world. He wasn't willing to give up what he had with Hinata for a demon like Kyuubi.

No, Hinata meant too much for him to just give up and face defeat.

* * *

Hinata quickly put the picture back on her night table, but it was too late; the broken glass had cut her finger and it was now bleeding. Some of her blood smeared on the picture of Naruto, covering small portions of the picture. Her right index finger had a large cut, she put her finger to her mouth and sucked the blood out, while heading to her bathroom to wash the cut. She quickly treated her cut and cleaned up the mess she made in her bathroom from it.

She picked the up picture and carefully removed the picture from the frame and threw out the broken frame in the trash.

* * *

Naruto and Kyuubi continued to fight within Naruto's mind. Their footsteps splashed the sewer water from under them and their swords chipped at the stone walls around them. As Kyuubi dropped down to swipe at Naruto's legs, Naruto jumped up and tried to deliver a hooking kick. Both missed their target, and resumed to their swordplay. The two locked blades and fought for dominance, straining to overpower the other as their katanas pressed against the other.

**"Come on brat, kill me. Let's see what you can do."** Kyuubi smiled.

Naruto struggled hard for control. He then unleashed more wind chakra into his katana and created a large explosion that caused all the water around them to splash at a large rate. Both fell back from the hit and lost their sword. Naruto quickly got up on his feet and gathered more chakra into his hand. _I'm gonna need more time to for the wind element._ The chakra swirled into his hand and formed a perfect sphere. He ran at Kyuubi with the ball forward, "_Rasengan!_"

Kyuubi quickly countered the attack with a swirling chakra orb of his own. "_Rasengan!_" The two spheres came in contact and caused yet another explosion of sewer water. Now the two were drenched in the water, but still willing to fight. Naruto ran at Kyuubi, swinging his fists at him, but Kyuubi defended against the hits successfully. Naruto then jumped up to deliver a jumping hook kick at Kyuubi's head, but Kyuubi quickly grabbed Naruto's waist and threw him away. Water splashed around as Naruto made impact with the floor.

**"You can't possibly think you can beat me, can you?"** Kyuubi asked, **"I've lived much longer than you have, I know all the secrets of fighting. Hell, I know all your secrets."**

"That doesn't matter." Naruto said, "I'm gonna beat you, and I'm gonna do it with honor."

**"Honor? Please."** Kyuubi laughed, **"Honor isn't gonna save you here."**

"You don't know that until you try." Naruto answered, "Every human has some form of honor in him."

**"You see, that's the thing."** Kyuubi said, **"You're a youma, not a human. You're my reincarnation, you're meaningless compared to me."**

Naruto's temper grew, but with Kyuubi and that power seperate from him, Naruto's rage was on its own, with no special secret power. Naruto ran off to the side to grab his katana and ran at Kyuubi head on. He swung his sword and aimed for Kyuubi's throat, but missed. He then swung his sword again and tried to attack Kyuubi with his blade, but each attack made no lasting effect. Kyuubi then grabbed Naruto by the throat and simply threw him back.

**"Really Naruto, a head on attack? Is your honor really helping you now? **Kyuubi asked with a laugh. He watched as Naruto slowly got up from the throw, **"Face it Naruto, you have no chance against your original."**

Naruto panted heavily, Kyuubi was right. Honor wasn't doing much good for him, maybe honor won't save him from a youma like Kyuubi. If he was going to beat Kyuubi, he needed to think of a plan, and fast.

**"So tell me, Naruto. What are you gonna do now?"** Kyuubi asked with a sadistic grin.

Naruto paused for a second to think of a perfect answer, "Improvise."

Naruto charged at Kyuubi once more, ready to swing his sword. Kyuubi was able to see right through this attack, like the last one. _**Coming at me upfront again? This brat really doesn't learn**._ As Kyuubi prepared to easily counter the attack, Naruto made his move. He swung his katana in a curving motion, easily deflected by Kyuubi, but this time, Naruto made a full spin around, confusing Kyuubi with this maneuver. Before Kyuubi could see what the real attack was, Naruto pulled out a kunai and placed the ring around his ring finger. Before making the killing blow, he did the most unexpected thing; he swung his leg and kicked Kyuubi right where all men are sensitive, right at the place where the inner thighs met. Kyuubi winced in immense pain as the leg hit him at the spot with strong force. Sure, Kyuubi wasn't reall a human, but taking on a human form meant having all human characteristics. Naruto then rammed his forehead at Kyuubi's nose, knocking Kyuubi back a little.Seeing this as the perfect oppurtunity to make the final strike,Naruto swung his right hand past Kyuubi's neck, making a large cut at the throat. He then swung his right arm down, slamming his hand right at Kyuubi's chest, plunging the kunai right into the heart. Kyuubi staggered back when Naruto pulled the kunai back out. Kyuubi fell to his knees and panted heavily, **"What happened to your honor? That attack had none."**

Naruto sheathed his katana. "I'm a youma, not a human."

Kyuubi chuckled, but coughed afterward. He was still surprised that Naruto had defeated him in battle. He panted deeply, kneeling with his hands on the wounds. "**You really are strong. I guess I didn't put that much faith in you."**

"I can't blame you." Naruto said, sheathing his katana, "You're a youma."

**"Are you going to finish me now?"** Kyuubi asked.

Naruto walked up to his defeated double. As he stood over him, he offered a hand. "No."

**"What?"** Kyuubi asked in shock.

"It's just not what I want from all of this." Naruto said, "But even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

**"Why?"**

"You need me, and I need you." Naruto answered, "Like you said before, if I died in battle, you would die too. If you died, I have no power." He still had his hand out, "Even though I regret this, I still want you to live in me."

Kyuubi smirked in amusement, but was surprised by this gesture. Instead of taking the hand, he simply chuckled and let himself slowly be consumed by the verychakra that gives him form.

"Wait, Kyuubi." Naruto was shocked to see that Kyuubi was now starting to fade.

**"Its too late, brat."** Kyuubi said, "**I've been defeated. It looks like this body is for you to control."** He saw that Naruto had a sense of sadness. Though he couldn't understand why Naruto was sad to see Kyuubi slowly fade away, he said more, "**I never thought a monster would show such compassion. Though I still don't change my view of desiring to destroy the world, I have grown to respect you, brat. I'm going to die now, since I deserve it."**

"You can't die." Naruto said, "You're a youma."

**"So are you, and only one of us can live on."** Kyuubi said, "**Right now, you proved to be the more worthy of the body. But don't worry, brat, I'm not going to disappear completely. You will still have my power and as agreed, I'll give you my unused lifespan. But I will give you something else, something more."**

"More?"

**"Its time I gave you the true powers of the Kyuubi."** Kyuubi smirked again as his body was getting closer to fading completely. **"Think of it as a parting gift from me to you." **With his last bit of strength, and existence, he launched himself at Naruto, consuming himself into the shinobi's eyes.

* * *

(Author's Note: While Naruto is in his mind, time in the real world is much slower. So right now, only about ten seconds went by.)

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, hoping that Naruto was still alive.

Naruto slowly got up from the ground. Upon opening his eyes, traces of steam came out., withthe burning sensation beginning to intensify. As Naruto stood up, he pressed his palms into his eyes, hoping to ease the pain. It proved useless as the burning spread from his eyes, to all over his body.

"What's happening to him?" Kiba asked, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer anytime soon.

The burning covered his entire body as steam emited from all over him. The pain finally took its toll on him as he couldn't contain the burning. He grabbed his hair and threw his head back and screamed a painful scream.

Kakashi, Kiba, and Sakura look in fear of what was happening to him. Jugo remained stationary to see what had just happened.

Suddenly, Naruto's scream of pain began to mix with a strange scream of laughter, a laughter that seemed almost crazed. His eyes suddenly changed from its blue tone to a burning red. When he blinked, his eyes were engulfed in flames. They eventually shrank down to form his signature red eyes with the slit pupils. But it wasn't finished, from there it changed again. The entire eye changed to a solid black colour, consuming the eyes in darkness, but the pupils changed to the blood red colour that his pupils once were.

The screaming and laughing continued to come as Naruto's body began to take form of something completely different. The pain took over him, burning his chest, as if he was hit by one of Sasuke's fire jutsus. He opened his shirt and let it hang loose around his waist as his chest was exposed and revealed to be unharmed to any sort of burn. His skin began to peel off as if something was under it and ripping it out. Under his peach toned skin, firey orange colors took over. The painful screams came when the burning sensation ripped the skin off, but the laugh came when his body changed to something that didn't involve his skin. His nails changed to a black color and grew in length. His teeth extended out to sharpen and his whiskers thickened. From behind, an orange tail began to form and emerge from Naruto's back. The tail waved around as Naruto continued to scream from the painful transformation.

The group that stood by watching this looked in shock to see what had happened. Naruto stood there, with skin that was now burning orange. Chakra surrounded his body, resembling fire as it flowed gracefully around him. His single tail swung around and suddenly split into nine seperate tails.

* * *

Hinata had looked closely at the picture, which was now ruined from her blood. When she looked at it, she saw that her blood made a completely dramatic change to Naruto's picture. The blood that Hinata tried to wipe off gave a orange tone to Naruto's skin, with small drops of leftover blood over his eyes to make them look demonic. The remaining blood around the picture swirled around, resembling many tails. Hinata couldn't understand how the bloodstain made Naruto look like the demon fox.

She began to wonder. _So many things have happened just because of this picture. Am I supposed to start believing in omens now?_

* * *

Naruto looked up and stared at Jugo who was standing before his teammates, he roared loudly as he slowly walked towards them. His teammates looked at him in shock, Naruto has changed again. The coat of chakra around him seemed more vicious than before, more angry, more demonic. His appearance was one that they had never seen before.

Kakashi looked at Naruto with fear. _Is this the nine-tail stage?_

Naruto's breathing was replaced by a low growl that came in place of an exhale. His dark eyes stared down Jugo, causing him to shed a tear in fright. He clenched his fists tightly, ready to finish what was left behind.

_No..._ Kakashi looked at Naruto again, but this time, in realization, _This isn't it. This is something more._ He could see that This transformation was much more different than the others. He had the qualities of Kyuubi, but he still had some of his humanity. _Demon and Human have become one._

Naruto raised his right hand slowly and pointed at Jugo, getting his attention. He then raised his fingers and stuck out his index and middle finger. "Round two." Naruto growled deeply. He charged at Jugo, prepared to end things with the monster.

* * *

**Well, there's the surprise. Naruto has finally taken his human and Kyuubi sides and merged them into one. His appearance is based off of the werewolf/vampire hybrid from the Underworld movie. Of course the main differences are; the skin is flaming orange instead of dark blue/black, the eyes, Naruto's hybrid form has a tail that can split into nine. And of course, Naruto still has his blonde hair.**

**In case you haven't realized, the idea of what to make Naruto's hybrid form look like was the writer's block. But at least I got it, I hope you like it. You'll be seeing more of it in later chapters, and definitely in the sequel. You'll be seeing lots of it in the sequel.**

**Remember, review. I love them.**


	26. Homecoming

**I think the hybrid form made a good impression on all of you readers. I have my reasons for the transformation, you'll see why eventually. Well, enough talk, let's get on with the story.**

**I've also noticed That I haven't used Inner Sakura. I can't let this story go on without Inner Sakura, she's what I like about Sakura, Inner Sakura is what makes me laugh.**

**Please remember to review.**

* * *

Naruto charged at Jugo, full speed and pure rage. The others could only look in utter shock at what Naruto had become. They watched as Jugo attacked Naruto, but the hybrid fox's speed and agility kept him safe from harm. As Jugo made a swing with his axe arm, Naruto jumped back, using his tails to spring him back on his feet. Naruto then jumped forward and slashed at Jugo, but his axe protected him from the claws.

"Kakashi-sensei, what happened to Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"It's the Kyuubi." Kakashi answered, still shocked by the appearance.

"Kyuubi's controled him again?" Sakura asked in fear.

"No..."

"Then what is it?" Kiba asked, "Did Naruto control _him_?"

"No." Kakashi said again, "He's embraced him. They've become one."

Naruto jumped back from another one of Jugo's attacks. He then ran at Jugo once more, but this time, he made a quick cut around and jumped on Jugo's back, locking his arms and legs around him.

"Get the hell off of me!" Jugo yelled as he tried to hit Naruto with his arm. Naruto remained locked in place, trying to subdue the beast.

Naruto then jumped over Jugo, managing to lock his legs around his waist. The two were now face to face with Naruto having a higher level in height. He then brought his tails and merged them into two. He used the tails to wrap around jugo's arms and lock them in place. Naruto then proceeded to punch Jugo's face repeatedly, putting every bit of his nergy into each hit. He then roared loudly, which increased the amount of visible chakra around him. As the chakra expanded, Jugo's body began to steam and sizzle. The chakra began to burn Jugo's skin. Naruto then roared loudly as he threw his head forward and slammed his forehead right at Jugo's. The two fell to the ground in a large thud, that formed a large dustcloud around them. When it settled, Naruto stood on top of Jugo, victorious. The others saw that Jugo had changed to a more human form.

"A transformation?" Kakashi asked himself, "In that case." He reached into his pouch and pulled out several tags. He threw them all at Jugo, sticking onto his skin. "That should keep him from changing again.

Naruto looked at his teammates, growling deeply. The others looked in fear, Naruto looked like he wanted to kill. He slowly approuched them.

"Keep a safe distance from him." Kakashi said, "Who knows what he'll do."

They all stepped back, except for Sakura. She was still hurt from her attack from Jugo, leaving her on the ground with her back to a tree. The beast that was once Naruto slowly approuched her, towering over her and casting a large shadow. Sakura could see that there was practically no emotions in his eyes besides anger. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for what was to happen to her next. What she didn't expect was something small and wet to hit her face. In confusion, she opened her eyes and looked up. What she now saw were tears coming out of Naruto's eyes. His form was still the merging of himself and Kyuubi, but he was now sad.

"Please don't be scared." He spoke. He wiped the tears off his eyes.

"Naruto?" Sakura looked closely at the face. "Are you really there?" She saw the humanoid fox slowly reached out his left hand, that there was some humanity in the beast. Sakura slowly reached out to touch the hand. The chakra around Naruto moved as if Sakura's hand had a repelling force. The chakra around Naruto's hand began to be forced back. When Sakura's hand touched his, all the chakra began to shrink down. The orange skin reverted back to being Naruto's original skin tone. His eyes changed back to being the bright blue colour and his fox features disappeared, leaving him with just his whiskers. When she saw that Naruto's humanity was still inside and he was now human again, she got up and hugged him tightly. "Thank god, you're alive."

Naruto hugged her back, "It feels great to be alive."

Sakura then did something unexpected; she threw a punch at Naruto, sending him to the ground and forming a crater.

"What the hell was that?!" Naruto yelled.

"That was for scaring me to death!" Sakura yelled back, "You have any idea how scared I was?! I thought I would die!" _Next time you scare me like that, I'll rip you apart! Shannaro!_

"Oi..." Kakashi groaned, "She obviously forgot that Naruto just died moments ago."

They all suddenly heard Jugo groan, they turned their attention to him. When Jugo looked up and saw that he was with strangers, he paniced.

"Stay away!" Jugo screamed in fear, "Stay away from me!"

"Calm down, we're not going to hurt you." Sakura said calmly.

"Please don't go near me." Jugo begged with mercy, "I don't want to hurt anyone." He backed away to a tree and curled up into a ball, "Please, just leave me alone."

"What's up with him?" Kiba asked, "He's not acting like the psycho he was before."

* * *

"Sounds like a duel personality to me." Kakashi said. They had just listened to Jugo's story of his problem and what he's been through. "Perhaps the Hokage can help you."

"No...no one can help me." Jugo said, "Orochimaru was a Sannin just like her, even he couldn't do anything to save me."

"He never tried to save you." Naruto said, "Orochimaru is all about experiments and testing on humans."

"Tsunade-sama can help. She's a great medic-nin, one of the greatest ever." Sakura said, "If there's anyone in the world that can cure you of your problem, it'll be her."

Jugo thought about it to himself. What else did he have to lose? Sasuke had abandoned him, the one person left who could control his outbursts. If what they say about Tsunad was right, then he may have some hope for a better life. "Ok, I'll go." He then looked at some of the tags that were put on him, "But please keep these on me. I don't know when I'll begin to hurt someone."

"If that's what you want, then we won't argue." Kakashi said. He looked up to the sky and saw the sun beginning to hide in the trees, "It's getting late, let's find a place to rest for the night."

* * *

_Naruto stood alone in the empty streets of Konoha. He remembered this situation from before, he could never stop it, only watch as it unfolded. Standing in front of him, his friends stood in fear. He watched as some backed away while the others slowly approuched him._

_"You guys can't stay here." Naruto said, in worry, "Get out."_

_"Not without you." Kakashi said._

_"Let us help you." Hinata said to him._

_It then happened. Just like before, he felt the burning pain inside of him as he slowly took form of the monstrous Kyuubi. But this wasn't going to end the same. Kyuubi was dead, with that knowledge, this event could no longer happen._

_"Naruto!"_

_Naruto/Kyuubi looked behind and saw a large wall of shadow come closer to them. Though it was just a moving shadow, there was a feeling of death coming from it. Naruto/Kyuubi faced the darkness with a growl. He then roared loudly, unleashing a bright orange wave that forced the shadow back. Naruto now stood in his hybrid form, standing before the cowering shadow._

* * *

Naruto woke up from his dream. He wasn't sweating like before, maybe a little from the heat coming out of the campfire.

_That's it._ Naruto thought to himself. _That's what my dreams meant. I became the Kyuubi, but I'm in control of it now._ The dreams felt like it told his future. They always showed him changing into Kyuubi and causing chaos, but now he realized that it was meant to show him the future of when he and Kyuubi united into one whole entity.

"Morning Naruto."

Naruto looked behind him to see Kakashi arriving with some fish. Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru arrived with some berries. Jugo sat alone by a tree.

"Morning?" Naruto asked, "But it's still dark, and the fire's still bright."

"Kiba relit the fire for breakfast." Kakashi said, shaking the fish to show what breakfast was going to be today. "And its dark because he happen to have an eclipse right now." He pointed to the sky, proving himself. The sun was covered by the moon and only a small bit of light filled the sky, making it seem like night.

"Then why am I still so tired?" Naruto asked with a yawn.

Sakura then threw water at Naruto from a bucket not too far from the fire.

"What the hell?!" Naruto yelled, wiping the water from his face.

"You still tired?" Sakura asked.

"Not anymore?" Naruto muttered in disappointment.

"Good, then let's get ready for breakfast." Sakura smiled, "The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get to Konoha."

* * *

Tsunade was busy skimming through all the paperwork on her desk. She had much work to do with them, assigning teams for missions, making teams, it just kept piling on top of her.

"Tsunade-sama." Yamato entered her office, "Kakashi-senpai has returned."

"Very good." Tsunade said. _I'll deal with these later. _She finished up with the papers in front of her and saved the rest for another time.

"And they seem to have someone else with them." Yamato said, "It looks like they have a prisoner."

"Prisoner?" Tsunade asked, "Let's go and see."

* * *

"Sasuke, please calm down." Karin waved her hands in front of her face as she tried to calm down an angered Sasuke.

"I made it clear before that i needed all of you." Sasuke said, "I can't lose anybody. But look at this now! We lost Jugo!"

"You know, you're taking this a little too hard." Suigetsu grinned, "We don't need Jugo, we're powerful enough without him."

Sasuke pulled out his sword and swiped at Suigetsu. Suigetsu's body quickly splashed when the blade came in contact with his body. The water tn reformed, givingSuigetsu back his head as if nothing had happened. "I assumed that you knew that you can't kill me that way."

"You now that I have a way to kill you." Sasuke said, "I know what your greatest fear is."

"Yeah right, I'm not scared of anything Sasuke."

Sasuke quickly sheathed his sword and formed some hand seals in timed order; Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, Tiger. "_Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!_" Sasuke spewed out small pellets of fire at Suigetsu. Suigetsu quickly fell to the ground and covered his head, trembling. "You see what I mean?" Sasuke stood over Suigetsu's body, "You fear fire, you fear the fact that heat can kill you just as easily as the sun can evaporate water."

* * *

Hinata stood at the gates, patiently waiting for Naruto. Even though he had been gone for a few days, it felt like a lifetime. As she looked on, she noticed figures in the horizon. They slowly came closer towards the village gates. Hinata smiled brightly when she recognized the figures. When they finally made it to the gates, Hinata nearly cried when she saw Naruto. The blindfold was finally removed, now he had his eyes back.

"Hi Hinata." Naruto smiled.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran to him and threw her arms around him.

Naruto only got a brief glimpse of Hinata, before she threw herself at him. It's been so long since he last saw the colour of Hinata's hair. When the two parted, Naruto smiled when he was finally able to see Hinata in true colours. He gently stroked her hair in his hands. "I missed the colour of your hair."

"And who is this?" Tsunade looked at Jugo, who was bound and covered with several sealing tags.

"This is Jugo." Kakashi said, "He was with Sasuke, before they left him."

"Sasuke?" Tsunade saw this as an oppurtunity. Maybe Jugo can lead them to Sasuke. "Take him to a cell."

"Please make it a cell with heavy security." Jugo begged, "And supression tags everywhere."

Tsunade looked at Jugo with a questioning look on her face. Kakashi was able to provide her with an answer, but it'll have to wait for when he needed to file his mission report, "Just do as he says Hokage-sama."

"Fine." Tsunade replied, "Get some supression tags set up for cell." She turned to leave, but was stopped.

"Baa-chan, wait."

Tsunade twitched when she heard her nickname once more. Someday, she was going to kill that brat if he ever made her nickname public like this in the future. "What is it brat?"

"Can I talk to you about what happened, alone?" Naruto asked, "I think you should hear this."

"Alright." Tsunade could see the concern in his eyes. She then turned to Kakashi, "I'll speak with you afterwards."

"Hai." Kakashi bowed.

"I'll see you afterwards, Hinata." Naruto smiled.

"Ok, I'll wait for you at your apartment." Hinata said.

* * *

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Tsunade asked.

Tsunade and Naruto were alone in her office. Tsunade sat at her desk while Naruto stood across from her.

"It's about Jugo and Sasuke." Naruto said, "I never told anyone about this. But when I fought Sasuke, at the Valley of the Ends, he went through a change."

"What kind of change?"

"He became a monster. His skin changed to a dark colour, his hair grew, and he grew wings from behind." Naruto said. He remembered every little detail of Sasuke's Cursed Seal form. Even though its been over six years, he couldn't keep the image out of his mind, that image reminded him of his failure. "When I fought Jugo, he went through a change just like Sasuke's."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"Cure Jugo. Find out what causes the change." Naruto pleaded, "When I bring Sasuke back, I want that cure to be ready for him."

"Wait..." Tsunade suddenly had a flash in her mind, "Did you say his name was Jugo?"

"Yeah."

Tsunade quickly rushed to her bookcase and looked for a specific book. She then pulled out one that was fairly thick, and large in surface area. She opened the book and flipped through some pages. She then stopped on a page. "Jugo, I should have known."

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"During the time Jiraiya went looking for Orochimaru, he kept track of his findings in this book." Tsunade said, gently waving the book in her hand, "Whenever found something new on him, he came here and filled in some pages with his new findings." She showed Naruto the page she stopped at, "Jugo is one of Orochimaru's biggest experiments. Jugo has special enzymes in his blood that allow him to gain incredible power as well as change into a monster. Orochimaru was able to extract it and give it to other test subjects in the form of a seal. He had a name for it, i think it was called..." She flipped through the pages to find the name.

"The Cursed Seals."

"Exactly." Tsunade said, "And if you said that Sasuke beat you when you went through a Kyuubi transformation, Jugo must have been harder for you."

"He was." Naruto said, "I had to change into _it_ to beat him."

"You did what?" Tsunade asked, shocked, "You went through the transformation again?"

"I had no choice." Naruto said, "He was going to kill Sakura if I didn't."

"Naruto, you should be dead by now." Tsunade said, "I told you that if you went through the transformation agian, your lifespan could cease."

"I know that but..."

"No buts, you're coming with me to the hospital." Tsunade grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him out of her office, "I'm going to have to see how much damage Kyuubi did to you."

"But I'm hungry!" Naruto complained.

"You can eat when I'm done with you." Tsunade groaned in irritation. Even after all these years, Naruto still can act like the little baby he was when they first met.

* * *

"I don't understand." Tsunade looked at Naruto's test results.

"What?" Naruto asked. He sat on a bed with no shirt as Tsunade came in with the results.

"Your cells, they completely changed." Tsunade said, "You somehow created new cells in yourself."

"Well, I have Kyuubi to thank for that." Naruto answered. The look that Tsunade made, had him knowing that she would have wanted some answer, "It's kinda hard to explain, but long story short, he gave me his lifespan."

"Lifespan?"

"Kyuubi had a large lifespan before he was changed into me." Naruto explained, remembering the exact details of what Kyuubi told him. "When I went through the Kyuubi transformation, my lifespan ended. From there, I fought Kyuubi in my mind. He said he'd make the fight into a game, saying; if he wins, he controls my body and lets me die. If I win, I keep my body and he gives me his remaining lifespan."

"Well, with that known, we'll be expecting you around for alot longer." Tsunade said, smiling in relief. "And you also said you had trouble with your new techniques."

"Yeah, I can't seem to turn invisible anymore. I can't even move things with my chakra." Naruto frowned.

"Maybe you'll have to get used to it now that you have your eyes back." Tsunade said, "You said that you used chakra waves to be able to see when you didn't have your eyes. Maybe that wave was what gave you those techniques."

"But why can't I emit those chakra waves anymore?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, you're the first person to ever exhibit this kind of talent." Tsunade said.

"And also, how long do I have left to live anyways?" Naruto asked, "How extended is my lifespan?"

"Well, if you were to avoid getting killed, you would die a very old man." Tsunade laughed, "I'm guessing you want to go eat, so get out of here."

"Yes!" Naruto ran out the door. Tsunade looked back on his bed and saw that he left some things behind. Naruto walked back into the room, picking up his shirt and his sandals. "Sorry." He then ran back out.

* * *

Jugo sat in a cell with several suppression seals on him. It wasn't too dark, there were many torches to light up the place. A door opened and someone came to his cell, holding a tray with food.

"Naruto?" Jugo recognized the figure.

"I thought you might be hungry." Naruto said. He slid the tray under the bars, which was there to give food to the prisoners. The tray had a large bowl of ramen with a glass cup and a large jug of water. "Its the best ramen in the world, you'll love it."

"Thank you." Jugo crawled to the tray and took the bowl. He ate through it all rather quickly, surprising Naruto. "You're a very kind person, even when I almost killed you and your friends."

"Something about you made me see that you weren't the killer that the others saw." Naruto said, "To me, you seemed like a tormented victim of bad luck." He remembered how Jugo's transformation seemed similar to Sasuke's Cursed Seal transformation, "Tsunade-baa-chan is the best medic-nin ever, she'll help you. She can fix you and you can be normal again. I'm just sorry they had to put you in here."

"It's alright, I understand." Jugo answered. He put the bowl back on the tray and drank the water right from the jug. "Please tell your friends that I'm sorry for hurting them."

"You can tell them yourself." Naruto smiled, "You'll be out of here in no time." His stomach then grumbled, "I think I should get some food myself."

"Good-bye Naruto, and thank you." Jugo said, "I appreciate your kindness."

Naruto simply smiled while he left the cellroom.

* * *

Naruto walked into his apartment, being greeted by Hinata.

"Hi, Hinata." Naruto smiled, "Sorry I'm late."

Hinata ran to him and kissed him. "I'm just glad your finally back. It felt like forever."

"It sure did." Naruto said, "I was coming here to see if you wanted to get something to eat with me?"

"If its for ramen, then I would love to." Hinata giggled.

"Then let's go." He grabbed her hand and the two left his apartment. "Maybe afterwards, we can go visit Iruka-sensei."

* * *

**Well, done with that. This story might take some more time. I'm currently tryin to think of how to end this story. I want it to be perfect and have a reason to lead to the sequel. Kinda like the Lord of the Rings; each book ends with a reason for another book to be made.**

**Anyways, I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. This story is close to its final chapters. I'll tell you all when we reach the final five chapters.**

**Please remember to review.**


	27. Point of Intersection

**I'm getting really excited, I'm getting closer and closer to the end.**

**Nothing much to say now, except for;**

**Please read and review.**

**And most of all, enjoy.**

* * *

"Another mission?" Shizune stood by Tsunade as the Hokage was planning for another mission with Naruto, "But he just got back. Maybe you should give this mission to someone else."

"Jugo was kind enough to give us information on Sasuke. Everything he told us was more than enough reason for me to give this mission to Naruto." Tsunade said, "Besides, Naruto would want to go anyways."

"But Tsunade-sama, ever since Naruto returned to the village after his three-year absence, he's been getting mission after mission." Shizune hoped that she may give Naruto at least a few days to take a break.

"I'm sorry, but time is essential right now." Tsunade answered. She took a sheet of paper that had a list on it, "Take this. These are the people assigned to this mission. I want you to go out and find them. I've already briefed half of them, so for the ones whose names are crossed in red, you don't need to trouble them."

"Hai." Shizune left the office to go out and search for the people whose names were on the list.

* * *

"I never saw that coming." Naruto said as he and Hinata left the academy. "Iruka-sensei finally became a jounin." This explained why the two didn't see Iruka at the academy. Instead, they were greeted by a completely different chunin who told the two of Iruka becoming a jounin during the time Naruto was gone for his three year training. "Man, I was really hoping to see him. I wanted him to treat me to some ramen."

"You can ask him when he gets back." Hinata said, "I'm sure he'll want to see you."

"I just hope he'll be alright." Naruto said.

"Naruto!"

Naruto and Hinata looked back and saw Shikamaru approuching them.

"What's up?"

"Shizune asked me to find you." Shikamaru answered, "We're needed at the Hokage tower. We're gonna be meeting with Sakura and Sai too."

"A mission?" Naruto asked.

"Seems like it."

"I'll be right there. Go on without me." Naruto watched as Shikamaru left the two and made his way back to Tsunade's office. "I guess I'll see you afterwards."

"Ok." Hinata smiled.

Naruto gave Hinata a small kiss to the lips. "Bye." He then dashed off to head to the Hokage Tower, or meet up with Shikamaru. Which ever one was quicker.

* * *

"How much further?" Suigetsu asked. "My feet are killing me."

"If we still had Jugo and his tracking skills, we would have been there by now." Sasuke said.

"What tracking skills? All he could do was talk to birds." Suigetsu said.

"Who knows the map of the world better than anyone? Birds." Karin said, "Jugo can talk to birds, birds know where places are. Simply put, Jugo can track."

"Don't try to suck up to me Karin." Sasuke said bluntly, "The least you could have done was help me save Jugo."

* * *

"I'm assigning you all to this S-rank mission." Tsunade said. She stood before Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, and Yamato. "Jugo gave us information on Sasuke, allowing us to determine where he may be. This will be your chance to find him and bring him back to Konoha."

"Is it that nessecary to bring this many for the mission?" Sakura asked.

"This is only half." Tsunade said, "You will be joined with Hinata, Ino, Neji, Shino, and Kakashi. I already briefed them on their mission, so they'll be waiting for you in one hour."

"Wait, don't let Hinata join this mission." Naruto suddenly blurted out. He was met with stares from his everyone, all of them were looking at him with a confused look.

_Concerned fo Hinata? Naruto really has matured into a caring gentleman._ Tsunade smiled, "As much as I admire your concern, I can't. Hinata requested to join this mission after hearing about it."

"But..."

"We can discuss this after after I explain the mission." Tsunade interupted, seeing that the mission assignment was more important than Naruto's personal issues, "From what Jugo has willingly told us, Sasuke and his team are going to another one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Sasuke is searching for information on Itachi's possible whereabouts and has resorted to raiding every hideout for information."

"Where is this hideout located?" Shikamaru asked.

"The country is up north, east of the Rice Field country." Tsunade answered, "It's not far from the Wave country."

"That's all we need to know." Yamato said, "Meet at the gates in one hour."

"Hai." The team left the office, but only Naruto stayed behind.

"Baa-chan, I'm serious, don't let Hinata go." Naruto requested.

"I'm not going to withdraw Hinata from this mission after she asked me to be put into it." Tsunade said, "Why do you not want her to go? What's there for her to fear? She knows about the Kyuubi, isn't that enough?"

"There's more now." Naruto said, "When I fought Jugo, something happened to me. Something different."

"Different?"

"I transformed into the most powerful form possible, but I was in complete control." Naruto said, "I'm not sure how to explain it."

"You worried about what would happen if Hinata saw this change?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah. I almost killed her when she saw my transformation the first time." Naruto couldn't remember what happened on that day in Suna, but he remembered the extreme amount of damamge Hinata endured. All because of him. "I don't know how she'll handle it now."

"Well, I'm sorry Naruto. Hinata is going on this mission with you. You'll have to trust her strength." Tsunade said, "While you are gone, I'm going to work on the cure for Jugo. If you manage to bring Sasuke back, I'll be sure to have the cure ready for him too. Now get going, I'm sure you'd want to eat something before you have to leave."

* * *

Neji sat up on the bed with no clothes. All he had was a blanket covering his lower body. He looked down to his left side and saw Tenten resting comfortably next to him. Her hair spread around her pillow, making it seem like she was in the air and the wind made her hair dance.

"You really know how to please a girl." Tenten giggled.

"Remember, we're keeping this a secret." Neji reminded her.

"Yeah, I know." Tenten smiled, "If the question comes up; I don't know you, you don't know me."

Neji simply grinned at this. Tenten was always the one who was able to make him smile, even if it wasn't noticable. "I better go now. My mission starts soon."

"I'll be waiting." Tenten said.

"Of course you will." Neji leaned in and kissed her on the forehead as he left the bed to get to his clothes. "Who else would you wait for?"

* * *

Hinata was walking down the street, making her way to the gate. It was now time for her mission to start and she wanted to get there on time. As she was turning at a corner, she saw Naruto.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata put on a smile, "Are you ready?"

"Why did you do it?" Naruto asked, showing no smile, just a serious face. "Why did you ask to be put on this mission?"

Hinata paused. She didn't think Naruto would respond like this. She had hoped he would simply see the fact tht they would be together for a mission. "I thought that..."

"This isn't going to be an easy mission. People can die in this one. Sasuke won't be merciful." Naruto said, strongly. "I can't let you do this. I want you to stay here."

Hinata was understanding of Naruto's worry for her, but she didn't want him to face this without her to help, "No. I'm going."

"But Hinata..."

"I chose to join this mission because I want to help you. You were the reason why I wanted to become stronger. I wanted you to see how much stronger I've been since you left." Hinata slowly began to form tears in her eyes, "I want to show you that my training was wirth the years I spent waiting for you to come home."

Naruto didn't really expect an answer like that. He actually had an answer prepared if she said she wanted to join only to be with Naruto. "Alright."

Hinata smiled with delight.

"But if I ever tell you to run, you have to do it, Ok?" Naruto asked, "Since I'm the prime target in the group, anyone around me will get hurt."

"Ok. I'll do it." Hinata nodded.

* * *

Orochimaru walked down the halls of his hideout. Unknown to the people that were to soon come to the very hideout that he was defeated by Sasuke, the snake sannin took refuge there. He made his way to a door that was had steam coming from the opening under the door. When he reached for the handle to open the door, his skin sizzled from intense heat, but this caused him to merely grin. He opened the door and saw Naikito standing in the middle of the room with puddles of lava everywhere.

"Come on now, Naikito." Orochimaru smiled, "Time to get moving."

Naikito groaned in disgust, which was noticed by Orochimaru.

"Do you have a complaint?"

"No, none at all." Naikito answered.

"Then let's go." The smile on the snake sannin's face dropped to a disappointing expression.

* * *

The team was now setting up camp for the coming night. It wasn't that much farther until they would soon arrive at the hideout.

Each member went out to collect nessecary supplies to help them last for the night. Naruto and Hinata were the first to make it make to the camp. Seeing that the others haven't arrived after a good five minutes, the two decided to set up a fire. Hinata later went to her tent to go get a blanket for them to share while they sat by the fire and waited for the others. With Hinata going to the tent, Naruto was deep in thought for a specific question that was in his mind. There was something he wanted to tell her, but didn't know how to say it. Hinata came out of the tent in a matter of seconds and noticed the look on Naruto's face.

"Naruto-kun? Are you alright?"

"Uh...yeah, I'm fine." Naruto hesitated. When his eyes met with hers, a sudden feeling came into his mind. He now realized, he didn't need to think of any fancy way to say what he needed to say, if she really cares about him, she'll accept anything. "Hinata...there's something I want to ask you."

"Ask...me?" Hinata suddenly blushed brightly like her younger self used to do.

"I...um...well.." He realized that he was back to thinking of a good way to ask. _Oh, the hell with it._ "Hinata, move in with me."

"W-what?" Hinata blushed brighter. Did she just hear him right?

"When this mission is over, when we go back home, move in with me." Naruto said. "Just take your stuff and bring them to my apartment."

"But...I don't know..My father wouldn't approve of it." Hinata said.

"Then let me talk to him." Naruto offered. He held Hinata's shoulders with his hands, "Hinata, I love you."

Hinata was now close to coming to tears. She had just heard Naruto say that he loved her.

"This is the choice I made." Naruto smiled, "Now, what about you? Do you want to live with me?"

Hinata smiled brightly, she just couldn't refuse, "Yes, I do."

"I knew you would." He kissed Hinata deeply, holding her in his arms. Hinata wrapped her own arms aorund him. This was yet another checkpoint in their life. They finally found feelings for eachother, they found love, and now they were soon to be together forever.

From the distance, Shikamaru was coming to the campsite when he saw Sakura and Ino standing behind bushes. "What's up with you two?"

"Shh." Ino pressed her index finger to her 'o' shaped lips as she looked at Shikmaru. "Look over there." She whispered.

Shikamaru kneeled by the two and looked ahead. At the campsite, Naruto and Hinata were in eachother's embrace in front of the camp fire.

"This is so romantic." Sakura smiled. _How the hell did that baka find love before me?! Shannaro!_

"What's going on here?" Sai walked up to the three. He didn't really need an answer when he saw what they were looking at, "Does Naruto approve of you three spying on him like that?"

"We...we're not spying." Ino blushed brightly, "We just didn't want to ruin their love moment."

Sai looked at Naruto and Hinata with a look of curiousity. _I wish I could have that kind of feeling someday._

* * *

Orochimaru and Naikito arrived at one of Orochimaru's chambers that had many labotory equipment. There were many containers with unknown liquids inside and some dead animals contained in small to large jars. Naikito simply looked at this in disgust. It wasn't that he didn't like the collection, afterall, he had a trophy collection of heads that were of famous or powerful shinobi. What he didn't like was that Orochimaru used this collection for experiments and not for mere collection.

"It seems that we will soon have some visitors." Orochimaru said, "I want you to go out and deal with them."

"And why can't you do it instead?" Naikito asked, "Its your problem afterall, this has nothing to do with me."

"Enough of this Naikito, its time to go out and strike." Orochimaru hissed.

"You know, I'm beginning to get fed up with your orders." Naikito said, "And if I remember correctly, you agreed to let me rebuild my tribe when I joined you.

"What's your point?"

"Well, where's my tribe?" Naikito asked, "If I find that you've decieved me, I will kill you myself."

"Naikito, do not forget that it was through me that you became a powerful shinobi." Orochimaru hissed at the armored man.

"That may be true, but with that Kabuto now dead, I see no reason to stay here with you." Naikito responded, "I simply wanted more power to be able to bring my tribe back to glory."

"You dare to defy me?!"

"I sure as hell do." Naikito formed some hand seals. "_Yougan Dan no Jutsu_(Lava Bullet Technique)." He spewed out pellets of lava at Orochimaru, but missed each time. Instead, he hit several glass vials that were on a table next to the pale skinned sannin. What Naikito didn't know was that the liquids in the vials were highly flamable. When a lava bullet hit the liquid, it bursted into flames, created a large wall of fire between him and Orochimaru.

"Naikito!" Orochimaru screamed past the loud explosions and the crackling of fire.

"Have fun cleaning this up." Naikito smiled with eivl delight, "I have my own agenda now." He turned and lefted the room, making his way through the hall and to the exit of the hideout.

* * *

The next day, the team got up early and prepared for their journey to the hideout. With the time they left, they were close to the place, at the point where they were finally clear of the forest and into open land. The team had finally reached a point where Jugo mentioned would lead to two different entrances to the hideout. Up ahead, several miles away, they could see a small mountain.

"That must be the hideout." Yamato said.

"Ok, we'll split up into two teams." Kakashi instructed, "I'll lead, Neji, Ino, Shino, and Shikamaru. Yamato will lead Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Hinata."

"Hai!" The teams split and went their ways to the seperate entrances.

Yamato's team went up to the cliffs to their upper level entrance.

"Remember, Sasuke may be here, so be prepared for a fight." Yamato said, "And Naruto, be careful of your actions. If we run into Sasuke, I don't want you acting on your own."

"I know." Naruto said.

* * *

Team Snake, or now, Team Snake minus one member finally reached the entrance to Orochimaru's base. Since both each of them have been here before, they knew where the entrances/exits to the hideout were. Considering their location, they looked for the entrance, which was by a cliffside. Once they found it, Sasuke performed a seal that opened the pathway.

"You two stay here." Sasuke said.

"Why?" Suigetsu asked, "Its not like anyone's gonna come."

"Don't doubt Naruto. He's a persistent bastard." Sasuke said, "I need you two to stay out here and make sure he doesn't come inside.

"Fine." Suigetsu groaned in disgust. As he watched Sasuke disappear into the darkness of the hideout, Suigetsu plopped to the ground, "Man that guy really sucks balls."

"Don't talk about him like that, Suigetsu!" Karin snapped.

"Jesus, even when he's not around, you still suck up to him like a fangirl." Suigetsu frowned, "You know, after three years of having you around, I'm getting really sick of it."

As Karin turned around to swing a punch, a sudden aura of chakra got her senses. "Someone's coming. No wait, we've got five people coming."

"Perfect, a fight. I can finally kill something." Suigetsu got up and gripped the handle of his giant sword.

From the distance, Yamato's group approuched the entrance to the hideout. As they saw the entrance, thay also saw two people standing outside.

"Password please?" Suigetsu asked with a joking grin.

"These two must be the other members Jugo mentioned." Yamato said.

* * *

"What do you have Neji?" Kakashi asked.

"Someone is approuching from our west side." Neji said. His Byakugan was activated as he scanned the area around them. "The person is carrying a large amount of chakra with intense heat."

"Naikito..." Kakashi recongized the heat from anywhere else.

They looked to their left and sure enough, Naikito appeared from behind a large stone pillar. "Well well well. Its been a while since we last met."

"Naikito, I should have guessed it was you." Kakashi said.

"I'm not going to let you get away from me this time." Naikito grinned, "I'm going to have all your heads. Although it'll mean nothing compared to the trophies I lost because of our first encounter."

"Be careful everyone." Kakashi instructed his team, "Remember, he can unleash lava."

"Oh, so you're no longer surprised by my powers?" Naikito asked, "Well, looks like I'm not doing my job right." He put his hands together for a rabbit seal. "May the power of the Oni Lord grant me the strength to smite our enemies, and mine." He then slammed his palm to the ground, "_Youganshin Henge no Jutsu_(Lava God Transformation Technique)!" From his hand, a small puddle of lava appeared and slowly began to get larger. Eventually, the lava expanded and consumed Naikito into the lava.

"What was that?" Ino asked. "Neji? What do you have?"

Neji looked carefully at the large lava pool, but then changed his look to a look of fear, "Oh no..."

The lava suddenly splashed up. The team quickly jumped away from the splash just in time. When the splashing stopped, the pool of lava slowly began to rise. It then began to take form of a large being with arms and a head. The giant lava beast then opened its eyes and looked down at the team. The beast reared its head back and then roared loudly at the Konoha ninjas.

"What kind of jutsu is _this_?" Kakashi asked in shock.

The Konoha shinobi now had to face one of their greatest challenges yet; a jutsu that had made Naikito larger than a high summoning. Along with massive size, it was a giant lava beast.

* * *

**I hope you're all enjoying this. Don't feel too upset, but this story is coming to a close. After this, we're on the final five chapters.**

**Here's what you'll expect.**

**1) The characters will meet and many will die. You'll just have to see who they are, but here's a small spoiler; three will die in the next chapter, one dies in the next, and one more dies in the next.**

**2) Naruto and Sasuke have another one on one.**

**3) Naikito's threat comes to an end. He's going to die in the next chapter, you'll have to see just how he does.**

**4)More secrets will be revealed.**

**Craving to know what all these are about? Stay tuned for the final five chapters.**

**Regarding Iruka, I realized that I haven't made any efforts to give him some time on paper or even mention him ever since he nearly died during the puppet invasion in the early chapters. I decided that the reason for his absence was his promotion to jounin during Naruto's absence. I'll try to give him more 'screen-time' in the sequel.**

**Please review.**


	28. Team Snake Disbanded

**Well, I was reading some Naruto manga and I realized some stuff on Sai's life. I thought that maybe it would be nice to introduce someone from his past. Read on to find out.**

**I'm also hoping to finish this story before Hidan and Kakuzu make their first appearance on the Naruto Shippuden anime(their astral projection during the Rescue Gaara arc doesn't count as a real appearance) Right now, I've got money bet that I would finish this before their appearance, my cousin bets that I won't.**

* * *

Suigetsu and Karin stood, facing the Konoha shinobi, both appearing to not look like they were wanting to fight.

"So you must be Naruto." Karin said, "I can see why Sasuke talks about you alot." She then did something that no one in the entire group expected. She winked at him, "I have to say, you're much cuter than him."

Naruto immedietly straightened up from his stance with a deep red tinge on his face, "W-what the hell?"

"You just shut up!" Sakura yelled, "That's not gonna distract us form our goal!"

"And what goal would that be?" Suigetsu asked, "You want to find Sasuke, but he doesn't want you to. That seems pretty one-sided to me."

Sai stared at the two, observing anything that could lead to a surprise attack from them, but when his eyes were fixed on Karin, something clicked, "Wait...you..." He nervously raised a finger at her.

"Huh?" She looked at Sai in question, "Do I know you?" When she looked carefully at him, she immedietly recognized him, "Oh right, you're the guy they gave the codename 'Sai' to." She then laughed, "What a surprise that I would find you here. What was the problem? Was Root too dull for you? Was the 'no emotions' rule getting to you?"

"You know her?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. She was originally a new member to Root." Sai answered, "In Root, you're not supposed to have any more emotions, for emotions would hinder a mission. Karin refused to get rid of her emotions and demanded to quit, but because she was already in the division, they couldn't let her, so she ran away."

"That's right, and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you." Karin said, remembering her past.

"Wait, then does that mean she was once a member of Konoha?" Naruto asked.

"Wait, even I didn't know that." Suigetsu said.

"Well, you did know that Sasuke and I had a history." Karin said.

"I thought that history started right when he joined Orochimaru." Suigetsu said, "You know,the night time thing?"

"Suigetsu, don't you dare." Karin ran at him ready with a fist, but Suigetsu blocked it with his sword.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked herself.

"One night, about a few weeks after Sasuke met Karin, she did something to him. Something, arousing almost, well for her." Suigetsu grined a grin of evil delight.

"..what..?" Sakura's eye twitched in contained rage. "What did you do to Sasuke-kun?"

"Suigetsu, Shut Up!!" Karin yelled.

"She gave Sasuke a blowjob while he was sleeping." Suigetsu finally blurted out Karin's darkest secret.

"Ai?!" Naruto staggered back dumbstruck.

"Is this really the time for that kind of information?" Shikamaru slumped.

Sakura couldn't hold it in, despite not having her infactuation for Sasuke anymore, she still couldn't hand;le another girl going for him. Karin crossed the line completely with her sick sexual nature. She ran at Karin, hand cocked back and ready to punch. As she ran, Sai stood in her way to stop her.

"Don't, she's not your concern." Sai said, "She's been my responsibility."

"Your's?"

"My brother and I were assigned to get her back after she escaped from Root. He had a way to allow himself and anyone else to approuch Karin without being noticed by her ability and I had the skills to subdue her." Sai went on, "Unfortunately, she got away from us when Orochimaru came in."

"And its such a shame that you're 'brother' had to die the next day." Karin smirked, "Poison does that to people."

"Poison?" Sai asked, his face was now giving a look of confusion, "My brother died from an illness."

"That was how the poison worked, moron." Karin answered, "I knew that if he survived our encounter, he would know where to find me and get to me just as easily as before."

"You mean..you..."

"That's right." Karin smiled, "I'm responsible for you're 'brother's' illness. I killed him."

A moment of silence surrounded the entire gathering. No one said a single word, with the Konoha shinobi staring at Sai in what appeared to be pity. Karin and Suigetsu smiled, almost taunting Sai. After a moment, Sai reached for the short sword on his back and pulled it out.

"I..will..." His eyes suddenly did something that no one has ever witnessed. His eyebrows slanted and creased, showing the rage inside him, "...KILL YOU!" He ran at Karin, planning to drive the sword into her heart.

"Sai!"

Sai ran forward, ignoring the calls of his teammates. With Karin in front of him, he knew it would be easy. As he came closer, Suigetsu appeared behind him and swung his large sword, but before the giant blade hit Sai, Naruto appeared and blocked the blow.

"Huh...not bad." Suigetsu said.

"That sword belonged to Zabuza Momochi." Naruto said, "I'm going to give it back."

"Well then, you're just gonna have to kill me." Suigetsu smiled, showing his razor teeth.

The two struggled for dominance in the stalemate of them pushing with their blades.

* * *

"_Doton: Doryuu Jouheki_(Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart)!" Kakashi slammed his hands together for the tiger seal. The earth beneath him and his group slowly rose up to a higher plane. "_Doton: Doroku Gaeshi_(Earth Release: Earth Shore Return)!" Kakashi slammed his hands into the ground andformed a wall of the very earth he stood on. This defensive wall was made just in time as a burst of lava hit the wall.

"How do we go up against that?" Shino asked, standing as close to the wall as possible to avoid any splashes of lava.

"I can try and control him." Ino sugested. "I think I might have enough power for it."

"No, don't." Shikamaru said, "It's not worth the risk. If it fails we can't promise that we'll keep your body safe in time."

"The only way to eliminate lava is to drown it." Kakashi said, but where is he gonna get water? They are in a barren wasteland. "Neji, try and see if there is any sign of water down below."

"Hai. Byakugan!" Neji scanned the area beneath him carefully and deeply. "There's water down there, but its so far down."

"It'll be enough for me." Kakashi said, "But I'll need you all to try and keep his focus off of me." Kakashi retracted the large wall that blocked the lava. The area was now covered it magma and the lava beast that was once Naikito still stood large. "I'll give you all places to run, but stay on the move. _Doton: Doryuu Jouheki_!" Kakashi summoned the earth from below to rise up on many different areas of the battlefield, each was at a distance that allowed the others to jump to and run around. "Go!"

The team scattered while Kakashi stayed in place to prepare for something. The three split off to try and keep Naikito's attention on them.Shino did his best with his bugs to hover around Naikito and block his sight as much as possible while the other two constantly threw kunais and shurikens. On many occasions, Naikito caught sight of Kakashi, but became distracted soon afterwards before being able to attack.

Kakashi had his eyes closed for the entire time, focusing hard on preparing for his plan. "Now. Everyone, get back here!" He waited for everyone to run back to his location before executing his attack. "_Mangekyou Sharingan_!" He jumped up to the sky and focused his point on the ground directly in front of the lava beast. Thanks to training, Kakashi didn't need too much time to create the vortex. Once the vortex formed, it consumed a large portion of the ground, creating a giant hole. Naikito's large lava body began to fall into the hole, now being trapped.

"This is it." Kakashi said, "Close to water, perfect for the final strike."

* * *

Sai continued to slash at Karin, focusing all his rage into each swing, but none touched her. This didn't stop him as he continued to expend his rage into each swing of his sword. Sai made one last attempt to try and stab at her face, but he missed again. Karin hit the hand away and Sai lost his grip on the sword. Instead of reacting to how he lost his weapon, he spun around and punched Karin in the face. She staggered back from the punch.

"You bastard, you actually hit a girl." Karin grabbed her nose. "What a collosal dick move."

"Shut up!" Sai rammed his shoulder at Karin and forced her on the ground.

"I've never seen him so angry before." Sakura said, "This isn't like him at all."

With Karin down below Sai, she was now at his mercy. Sai raised his fist and slammed it down at her face, the rage still in his eyes. With each blow, small traces of blood formed on Sai's knuckles and a painful sound from Karin came. Sai stood over her, with eyes filled with revenge. As Karin pulled herself up, she supported herself with her arms

"Sai, stop." Sakura said, but he didn't listen. Sai continued to punch Karin's face. Emotions weren't really expected in this mission, Sai never thought he would end up getting his emotions back, but now that he found his brother's killer, he couldn't control his anger. "Sai!"

Yamato ran up behind Sai and held him back, putting his arms under Sai's armpits and over to the back of his head and locking them in place. He then stepped back, pulling Sai away from Karin.

"What are you gonna do now?" Karin asked, "Are you gonna kill me? You do, you're no better than me."

"You're right." Sai answered. He pulled himself off from Yamato's grip, "I would be no better, which is why I'm going to let you live." He sheathed his blade back, "I'm going to have you taken back to Root. I'll let them deal with you." He turned to walk back to his teammates, who were relieved to see that he spared her life.

"No..." Karin whispered to herself, "I won't go back there." Karin got up, though her left arm was broken, she was still able to hold a kunai with her right hand. "I'm not going back to Root." She ran at Sai, who had his back turned.

"Sai, look out!" Sakura yelled. Sai looked back and saw that Karin was right behind him with a kunai. Immedietly, Sakura pulled Sai's sword out, pulling the blade and shoving Sai aside. She swung the short sword, which left behind a stream of blood. The blood splattered on her face and clothes. Karin stood in front of her with a deep slice at her throat and a look of shock on her face. She tried to say something, most likely a cursing word, but before she could, she fell to the floor.

* * *

"_Suiton: Takitsubo no Jutsu_(Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique)." Kakashi performed the jutsu, while standing just at the edge of the giant hole. From the walls of the hole, water began to leak out from inside. In time, those leaks grew into a large stream of water and that grew into a waterwall. The water splashed on the giant lava monster, creating a large amount of steam.

"Is it over?" Ino asked.

The lava monster roared as the hole slowly began to be filled with more water. It's body was starting to solidify from the cold water. The monster continued to roar as it slowly disappeared into the water. Kakashi fell on his bottom and sighed in relief.

"You did it Kakashi-sensei!" Ino screamed in delight.

Suddenly, the water splashed and a giant hand emerged. It slowly came down upon Kakashi.

"Look out!" Neji yelled.

Kakashi knew he had no chance to escape from the giant hand, but then it began to fall slower and slower. Eventually, the hand was merely inches away from Kakashi when it came to a sudden stop. The lava hand solidified to a rock hard surface. Kakashi sighed with relief, it was over.

"We're done here."

Kakashi got up and walked back to his team, but Neji's expression wasn't to comforting.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"He's not gone yet." Neji said, "His chakra is still flowing like a living person."

The giant hardened hand slowly began to crack and leak out small streams of lava. The hand then broke free from its solid prison and reformed into a giant lava beast.

"How?" Kakashi asked.

The giant beast roared once more as they all prepared for round two.

* * *

The sound of metal on metal clanged like the sound of an off-beat drum. Naruto slashed with powerful blows, creating a combination of sparks and flurious wind. He as at a disadvantage at the moment; his opponent had a much larger blade than him, meaning a bigger defense and a stronger offense. But this meant nothing to him, all he cared about was the fact that Suigetsu stole Zabuza's sword from his very grave. To him, that was simply unforgivable. As Naruto continued to attack, he finally saw an opening. He took the chance and swiped his blade horizontally, having the blade meet with the neck. Naruto stood triumphant as Suigetsu's head fell off the neck, but something didn't seem right. There was no blood anywhere and when the head hit the ground, it suddenly splashed.

"Nice move." Suigetsu's voice sounded like he was submerged in water. From his neck, a mass of water formed and took shape of a new head, "Such a shame you didn't know what I could do.

Naruto sheathed his katana. Clearly, simply slicing at him is going to get him nowhere. He pulled his arms out of his shirt, letting it hang around him. He then focused his chakra, causing the seal on his stomach to appear.

"What's this now?" Suigetsu asked, "You think stripping down's gonna make you faster?"

Naruto looked back at Suigetsu, "All talk and no walk. That's what makes you weak." Naruto then charged a full force chakra through his body that caused him to burn inside. He stained to fight the pain as it intensified. Once he reached the pinnacle of restraint, he screamed in pain as his body started to glow with fiery chakra. He then thrusted his palms down to the ground and a large explosion consumed him. When the dust settled, Naruto stood in his fox hybrid form.

"Naruto..kun..." Hinata stared at Naruto with eyes widened as far as she could. The sight of Naruto with the many tails brought back memories of the past. She remembered of how she saw Naruto in his monstrous transformation that nearly killed her.

"Stay back!" Naruto yelled to Hinata.

Remembering her promise to him, Hinata backed far away form Naruto, joining the others. Shikamaru stared at Naruto in surprise.

"What happened to him now?" He asked.

"His chakra is definitely the Kyuubi's." Yamato sensed the chakra that Naruto was emitting, "But it doesn't fell dangerous or threatening at all."

Suigetsu slammed his sword at Naruto, but his clawed hands caught the blade with no ill effect. Naruto pulled the blade off of Suigetsu's hands and slashed at him. Like before, Suigetsu simply splashed around and reformed.

"You're a pretty slow learner." Suigetsu mocked, "You can't kill me like that. Water can't be cut."

"Maybe not." He slowly approuched Suigetsu, "But it can burn." He grabbed Suigetsu's shirt and lifted him up, "Its time you feel the wrath of a youma. The strongest of them all, fear the power of Kyuubi."

As Suigetsu struggled to break free form Naruto's grip, he started to feel a burning sensation on his face. Witnessed by everyone around them, Suigetsu's body was slowly steaming up and going on to evaporate. Naruto's chakra grew around him as steam surrounded them both.

"No." Suigetsu struggled even more, "Stop! Please, I don't want to die!" Naruto gave no response, he simply laughed as Suigetsu burned away into a cloud of steam. All that was left of him began to drift away with the wind, along with a scream of pain that was coming form the cloud.

With Suigetsu left to nothing but steam, Naruto had no more use of the Kyuubi transformation. He looked back and saw that those who haven't seen this form before were now terrified. He saw that Hinata was at the point of fear that she was going to cry.

"Hinata..." Naruto's voice wasn't his own. Each breath came out as a low growl and each inhale sounded as though he was in rage. The chakra cloak around him shrank, now being nothing more than a thin layer around his body.

Hinata slowly, and cautiously walked towards Naruto. She watched as he extended a hand out, to which she reached out to touch it. As soon as their fingers touched, Everyone was able to see That point on Naruto's fingertip change back into human skin. The orange chakra slowly faded from that point, leaving Naruto back to his original form. Hinata threw herself at Naruto in relief.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean to scare you like this."

"I'm just glad your alright." Hinata closed her eyes and let one tear fall.

"We can't stall." Yamato said, "Sasuke is still in there and we might lose him."

"Wait." Naruto went to pick up Zabuza's blade, "Please, take this." He gave it to Yamato to carry. "This blade belongs to someone, and I want to return it when we're done with this mission."

* * *

Sasuke made his way out of the room he had just entered. He had a look of disappointment on his face. Well, it wasn't easy to notice that he was disappointed, considering he rarely smiled and he always seemed disappointed.

"Still nothing." Sasuke muttered in disappointment, "Where would Orochimaru have information about Akatsuki?" He walked through the halls to head back to where he left Karin and Suigetsu."

"Sasuke!"

_What the..._ Sasuke looked down the corridor and saw Naruto running towards him, followed by Sakura, Hinata, Sai, and Yamato. "How did they get past Karin and Suigetsu?" He needed to stop them, by any means. He remembered how he escaped the last time they were after him. Last time, he broke through the ceiling and made his escape with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Sasuke saw that as a possiblity for escape. He blasted his way through the hideout, causing a large portion of the hideout around him to be broken through. Sasuke jumped to the top of the rubble and ran off, not realizing that he was heading to the edge of the cliff. When he looked forward, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed his path came to a sudden stop.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked back and saw that Naruto was standing alone. Apparently, the explosions didn't hold him back. With Sasuke at the edge of the cliff, the only way out was to fight back.

"Well, looks like we finally see eachother face to face, Naruto."

"We still have a score to settle." Naruto growled.

"Then bring it." Sasuke said with strong confidence.

* * *

**YES! I finally finished this chapter. I had this chapter waiting for completion ever since I finished half of the story. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I'm soon going to exams and I need to prepare for it.**

**I know I said Naikito would die in this chapter, but I thought that he didn't have much screentime. I'll probably kill hims in the next chapter. You're probably wondering why I chose to mentioned Karin and her sick ways. Well, I remembered(In Naruto chapter 352 page 11) that Suigetsu once mentioned about doing something to Sasuke a long time ago, but he was cut short. I decided to elaborate on that. Since Karin happens to have a weird interest in Sasuke, I thought maybe she did something sexual to him when he wasn't suspecting it. Why wouldn't he be as quick to shut Suigetsu up unless he didn't know of it. So that was why I chose to bring it up.**

**At long last, The showdown with Naruto and Sasuke will begin.**

**And don't worry about Sakura, Hinata, and Yamato, they're alive, they're just trapped. They'll be out of there in time to see the fight.**

**Please remember to review.**


	29. A Duel Chosen By Fate

**This chapter is up a little earlier than planned, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I just had to get it up as soon as I could.**

**Now we begin with the moment you've all been waiting for. Naruto and Sasuke finally meet again and settle the score.**

**Now I would've made this chapter to its fullest potential, but that would have made it over 7000 words long. I'm not the kind of guy who likes too many words.**

**Now please read and enjoy it.**

* * *

For the first time in the longest time, the two finally meet face to face.

Rivals back in their childhood, best friends as they grew up, now enemies in the present.

"Sasuke...I've found you."

"Don't get ccaught up in the moment." Sasuke answered bluntly, "This isn't going to last long."

"I'm not gonna let you escape again." Naruto said. He clenched his fist tightly as he gave Sasuke a glare, "Like I said before, I'll bring you back home. Even if I have to break your body."

"Oh really?" Sasuke thrusted his hands and sparks of lightning surrounded his body. "_Chidori Nagashi_!" The sparks of lightning slowly concentrated into a more condense form over his hands_._ "You sure you want to spend your time fighting me? You sure you don't want to save your friends like Sakura? Or perhaps that Hyuga girl, Hinata?"

"Shut up." Naruto growled. He thrusted his hands and slicing winds surrounded his hands..

The two stood in front of eachother, preparing for the battle that was waited for. As if the two knew what the other was thinking, they both charged at eachother. Their elements still in their hands as they came closer and closer. Once they reached a proper distance, they attacked. Naruto delivered slicing motions from his hands while Sasuke blocked them with his Chidori. The fight seemed like it would be never ending, niether was able to lay a hand on the other for the other was able to block each blow. When it seemed that this would go nowhere, Sasuke managed to catch Naruto off-guard. Sasuke blocked a blow from Naruto and threw that arm aside, giving him an opening at his body. Sasuke used his lightning coated hands and punched at Naruto's rib, digging into his flesh. Naruto yelled in pain, but didn't stop. He threw his hands at Sasuke and sliced at his face and his chest in many different spots. The two then prepared a punch for the face, which hit the other at the exact same moment. The force of the punch knocked them both back and away from eachother. They fell on the ground, bleeding from the wounds and deeply in pain. Naruto slowly got up and groaned in stinging pain as his wounds slowly closed up. Sasuke's wounds also began to heal, the spots where there should be scars were not even visible. The two got up and saw how their attacks were healed off.

"I'll admit, you've gotten stronger." Sasuke said, "But you still don't have what it takes to beat me." He drew his chokuto from the sheathe behind him and pointed it forward.

Naruto pulled out his katana in a similar fashion as Sasuke, "You haven't seen me in three years, You don't know what I'm capable of right now."

"Well then, I guess you'll have to show me." Sasuke's blade suddenly sparked up with electricity.

"I sure will." Naruto's blade ignited in a fury of wind chakra.

Naruto started off by throwing a kunai at Sasuke. Sasuke blocked the small dagger with his blade, but when he brought the sword away from his face, Naruto stood before him. They two immedietly engaged in a duel. The clashing of metal, and the blasting of lightning with wind intensified the battlefield. The two sliced and parried at the opponent's blows, moving around the stone landscape.

"Come on! Show me something new!" Sasuke taunted.

He sliced towards Naruto's knees, but Naruto quickly jumped and backflipped to dodge the attack.

"Fine, how about this?" Naruto thrusted his katana forward. The blade suddenly began to grow in length, the wind was making a larger blade.

Sasuke quickly jumped back from the tip, but it still kept coming towards him. He quickly made hand seals for a counter jutsu. "_Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu_(Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)!" Sasuke knew very well that the jutsu needed any line or cord to be effective, but Naruto's extending blade was long enough. Even better, it was powered by wind. Sasuke blew out a stream of fire and it caught onto the wind blade like fire on oil. The flames travled down the blade and reached Naruto, engulfing him in the fire. The fire settled, but Naruto wasn't there anymore.

"A shadow clone..." Sasuke immedietly looked to his left and saw Naruto running up towards him.

* * *

A sudden explosion came from the rubble of the hideout. Sakura was the first to make it out, jumping through the hole with her fist forward. Sai, Yamato, and Hinata followed behind her.

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"_Fuuton: Rasengan_!" The sound of Naruto's voice was followed by an explosion.

"He's over there." Sakura pointed to where the explosion came from. They all followed her as they arrived at the scene of battle. Naruto and Sasuke dueled with the clanging of metal and sparks of lightning and wind.

Sasuke finally got close enough to Naruto. He grabbed his throat, but instead of choking the life out of him, he simply tried and forced him to the ground. Naruto tried to attack back, but Sasuke blocked the blade with his own. Naruto was on the ground and at the mercy of Sasuke, but he didn't give up yet. He swung his leg hard and knocked Sasuke off. The hit caused his chokuto to slip from his hands. Sasuke ran at Naruto and delivered a hard drop kick at him which knocked him down and lose grip to his own sword. Sasuke ran at Naruto again, but Naruto anticipated this. He swung his leg high up and kicked Sasuke right in the face, causing him to flip back and land hard on the ground. Naruto quickly picked up his katana and stood over Sasuke, ready to strike. As the blade came down upon him, Sasuke countered it. "_Chidori Nagashi_!" Sasuke caught the blade and sent a surge of lightning around Naruto's body. Naruto jumped away to avoid anymore electricution. Sasuke went to his chokuto and picked it up. The two panted as they were getting exhausted by the fight.

"We have to stop this." Sakura ran ahead but Yamato stood in her way.

"We can't, this is for them to deal with." Yamato said, "This is their fated battle."

Sasuke threw his chokuto up and formed hand seals as the blade remained in the air. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger, the hand seals led to the Uchiha's great jutsu. "_Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu_(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" The blade fell back down and Sasuke caught it. He then put his hand to his mouth and blew a giant fireball that came towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly jumped out of the fireball's path, but didn't get too far. He touched the giant ball with his blade and the wind surrounding the blade was consumed by the flames. Naruto then ran at Sasuke with a now fire-charged blade.

"Fire consumes wind. Very clever of you Naruto." Sasuke grinned to himself. He deflected the first blow from Naruto, but the flames from the blade only grew bigger when Naruto charged more wind chakra into it. The two continued to clash with their swords, creating chaos to the area around them. The two clashed with their blades and tried to overpower the other. Each pressed against the other with all their strength to weaken the other. With only one last option, Sasuke charged a large amount of electricity to his chokuto. Naruto quickly countered it by putting more wind into his blade, which increased the fire. The power from the two swords caused a large eruption of energy that sent the two flying in opposite directions. The two slowly got up from the forceful blow.

"Why can't you just give up?" Sasuke panted as he got to his feet, "I'm not going to stop until I kill Itachi." He pulled his arms out of his loose white shirt. "I won't have you get in my way of that."

Naruto removed his arms out of his black shirt as he got on his feet, "I promised Sakura that I'd bring you home. I'm not going to break that promise. After all these years, even when you almost killed me once, she still loves you."

"Love isn't going to help me kill my brother." Sasuke answered. The Cursed Seal on him slowly began to to glow and spread through his body. His hair grew out and changed to a more sinister tone. His Sharingan eyes were now surrounded by a shade of black. "Only hate can help me now."

"Hate is not the right answer to this. I will stop you." Naruto screamed in pain as he let out a giant explosion of chakra. He now stood transformed and ready for battle.

The wings on Sasuke's back came out as he ran at Naruto. Naruto quickly slammed his hands to the ground and caused the earth beneath Sasuke to crumble. He jumped up and took to the skies with his wings flapping. Naruto looked up and merely growled. He launched himself up to meet Sasuke, but came up short.

"You think you can reach me?" Sasuke asked, "Foxes can't fly."

Naruto's tail split into nine individual tails and they curled up together. "Well, then its a good thing I'm not just a fox." His tails thrusted down, which emitted a large force that pushed Naruto higher up. Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke with his claw and pulled him back to the ground.

From the sidelines, Hinata, Sakura, Yamato, and Sai could only watch as the two faced off. Sakura for the most part, was horrified of Sasuke's new appearance.

"What...happened to him?" Sakura asked in fright.

"That's the work of Orochimaru's cursed seal." Sai answered, "They have two levels of power; the first level simply covers the body in black marks, giving them a boost of power. The second level transforms their body into monsters."

Sakura partially listened to Sai's information, and partially ignored it. She was still took shocked by the appearance of Sasuke. He no longer looked like the one she fell for so many times. His peach skin was now darkened and his hair looked menacing. The wings on his back, the wings that looked more like webbed hands made it worse for her mind.

* * *

The two rivals continued with their monstrous battle. Naruto continued to charge at Sasuke with non-stop slashes while Sasuke stayed defensive. Sasuke finally threw a punch at Naruto, but it was blocked. Naruto held tightly to Sasuke's arm and ran his other hand up the arm, slicing at the flesh and reaching the chest, where he slashed deeply. Sasuke pulled his arm away and Naruto jumped at him. Sasuke covered himself with one of his wings, blocking Naruto's strike. He then spun around and hit Naruto with his other wing. The two now stood at a far distance from eachother. Sasuke let his cuts heal, groaning in pain from the bruning sensation of blood leaving him. The two glared at eachother, waiting for one of them to attack first. At the exact same instant, the two charged at eachother once more. Sasuke flapped his wings once and darted forward while Naruto ran forward on all four. When they were merely inches away from eachother, somehting came up form the ground. Two snakes rose from beneath and wrapped around the two.

"What the..." Naruto looked at the snakes. He looked at Sasuke, this must have been his doing, "Sasuke..." He was surprised when he saw Sasuke looking just as surprised by the snakes. The two snakes then bit into their victim's neck and then threw them away. As they skidded on the ground both Naruto and Sasuke began to lose control of their transformation, their transformation was fading. The snake bite must have supressed the power.

The snakes then slithered back into the ground and another being came from underneath, but this time, it wasn't a snake. It was Orochimaru who came out. "Well, looks like I'm late." Orochimaru grinned. He looked at his surroundings, "I hope I'm not interupting anything."

By this time both Naruto and Sasuke reverted back to their original appearance.

"Orochimaru..." Naruto growled.

Sasuke growled under his breath when he took a glance at him. The sight of Orochimaru made his blood boil with anger.

The two charged at Orochimaru, letting their own issue wait until later. The two jumped up and unleashed a fury of punches and kicks at Orochimaru, but each of them were blocked by the snake sannin. The two pushed at Orochimaru with their attacks, moving in motion as if they knew what the other was thinking. Their attacks and positions flowed smoothly with eachother. As one of them moved to one point to attack, the other moved to accomodate it.

_How strange. These two fight as if they were the friends the once were._ Orochimaru had this thinking in the back of his mind. He was rather surprised that the two suddenly changed their attention to him instead of continuing to fight eachother. Orochimaru quickly threw his hand forward and thrusted the two away from him. At this instant the two charged up elemental chakra for an attack.

"_Chidori!_" Sasuke's hand contained a large sparkling light of electricity and ran at Orochimaru.

"_Fuuton: Rasengan!_" Naruto swirled the chakra into a sphere and coated it with his wind element. He followed Sasuke and caught up with him.

The two slammed their chakra attacks at Orochimaru and caused the earth to explode. From the attack, the edge of the cliff that Hinata and Sakura were one broke apart. The two fell with the remains of the earth, falling down the cliffside. The dropped ended with a sudden thud from a small spot of surface at the cliffside. A large dust cloud covered the cliff's wall, but Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata were safe from the cloud as well as from harm. Sasuke looked back at the wreckage that both he and Naruto made. He remembered that they both plunged an attack at Orochimaru which caused the giant explosion to consume the battlefield. He looked ahead as he saw a figure walking towards him. The dust covered the details of the peron, but Sasuke knew someone was there. For all he knew, it was probably Orochimaru coming back for more. He charged up more lightning chakra and focused it into the form of a blade. He then thrusted the blade forward, extending out and reaching to his target. Sasuke smiled in victory when he heard the sound of a blade piercing flesh and the grunt of pain.

"Are are alright Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"I..think so.." Hinata rubbed her left arm gently to sooth the pain from the fall, "Where's Naruto-kun?" After hearing the sound of flesh being pierced, Hinata and Sakura looked in the direction of where Sasuke's blade went to.

The smoke clear and everyone in the area finally beared witness to what Sasuke had attacked. The Chidori blade went through the chest of its target, protruding out from the other side.

Hinata gasped and covered her mouth as she saw who the victim was. Sakura screamed in fear when she saw the smoke clear, revealing who Sasuke had just plunged his attack through.

Naruto groaned in pain as the blade was still through his chest. He stood there, slightly hunched and his head hanging low. Blood dripped out of his mouth as well as from the wound.

"No..." Sasuke looked in horror of Naruto's body in front of him. "Naruto.."

"Wow..." Naruto groaned out, "It hurts more than they say it does."

Sasuke immedietly eleiminated the Chidori. Once it disappeared, Naruto fell to the ground. Everyone ran to his side, with Sakura lifting up his head and resting it on her lap, holding one of his hands in hers. Hinata kneeled on his other side resting her hands on his chest.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata's eyes filled with tears, seeing her one and only love now wounded and possibly close to death. Things didn't seem any better when Naruto was breathing so deeply and groaning in pain.

Sasuke kneeled by his side, next to Sakura, "Naruto..."

"Stay away from him!" Sakura yelled at the Uchiha, "You don't deserve to see him."

"No...let him stay..." Naruto wheezed out.

"Naruto, I never meant to kill you." Sasuke said, "Everything I've done, I did so that I could still become powerful but let you live."

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stared at Sasuke in confusion.

"I've been doing so many things to help you survive." Sasuke said, "When you lost your eyes, I was the reason Kabuto and Orochimaru didn't kill you. I was the one who saved your eyes when you went to the hideout. You're still alive because of me."

...Flashback...

Naruto kneeled on the ground as he had his hands pressed to his eyes. Kabuto smiled in success as he now held Naruto's eyes in his hands. Orochimaru then arrived.

"How did it go?"

"Orochimaru-sama, I have them." Kabuto presented the eyes to his master, putting them into a small jar of liquid. "Now you can find a way to obtain the Kyuubi's powers."

"Well, now that we have our prize, let's remove the unused scrap of meat." Orochimaru grinned.

At this point, Naruto passed out from the loss of blood. His hands were still on his face, and the blood was squeezing its way between the fingers.

"Stay away from him."

"Huh?" Kabuto looked around, but didn't see anyone.

From the top of the trees, a white blade extended out. Orochimaru and Kabuto jumped out of the way just in time.

"Hm.. Sasuke's here." Kabuto knew that it was him through seeing the jutsu that was used.

"We're done here." Orochimaru said, "We have our prize. Might as well let the boy rot."

* * *

Sasuke waited in the dark corner of the room as Naruto and his team ran out. The dying sound-nin had just released his exploding tags, but Sasuke was able to keep himself from serious harm. He quickly grabbed the jar with Naruto's eyes and kept it close to him. He then activated his Cursed Seal, letting his skin, hair, and body change. He jumped up high to the ceiling and with the giant wings, he broke through the top. As he got out, another explosion came, which managed to burn the bottom of his sandals.

"Dammit..." Sasuke quickly ran to where the entrance to the hideout was. Seeing that the entrance was clearly revealed from where a tree used to be, he knew that Naruto would arrive here. He quickly got on his knees and began to dig into the ground. "Please find these Naruto." He took the jar and placed it inside the hole and covered it back up with dirt. He then heard someone coming out of the hideout. He took to the sky and above the trees, just lucky enough to avoid being seen by Sakura, who was the first one out of the hideout.

...End...

"I never wanted you die, Naruto."

"Sasuke..." He took in another deep breah, "I don't know how much time I have left, so I'm just going to say my last words." He looked over to Sakura, who was now filled with tears. "Looks like I won't be around to annoy you anymore, or to see you become a real woman."

Sakura slightly laughed at his joke, but the tears still didn't stop.

"We've had our rough times, but we also had our good times. I'll never forget it, and I'll never forget you." Naruto said. With his strength slowly fading away, he turned to Hinata. "I'm sorry that I won't be there with you anymore. I guess we won't be living together after all."

"Naruto-kun, don't say that." Hinata said. She reached to hold his other hand and held it tightly in hers. "You'll be alright, we can just take you to the nearest village and..."

"Don't..." Naruto interupted her. "There's no point now." The pain was now making his strength fade at a faster rate, "I might not be there to see it, but I know you'll make a great heir to your clan. You'll make everyone proud, you've already made me." A sudden stinging jolt made Naruto squeeze his hands, which both Hinata and Sakura felt, "Bye Hinata. I love you."

Hinata sobbed in between her gasps for air. "I love you too Naruto-kun." She continued to cry, knowing that she would never be able to share that love with him anymore.

"Sasuke..." He turned to his Uchiha rival. "You told me, you had to kill your best friend to get the power your brother had." He closed his eyes as the pain slowly grew inside him, "Well, now you have the power. Use it, and maybe you can come home."

"I'm not gonna let you die, Naruto." Sasuke said, "I'll save you."

"You don't have to." Naruto said, "At least I'll die, knowing that we're still friends."

"Best friends, Naruto." Sasuke smiled.

Naruto drew in one final deep breath before it was over for him, "Seeya...Sa...su...ke..." As he closed his eyes, he smiled. From there, everything went dark, until that darkness became nothing.

"Naruto..." Sasuke got no response. "No, Naruto." He looked up to Sakura and Hinata. Both of them knew fully well what had happened. Their friend was now dead. "NARUTO!!"

Remembering that Orochimaru was still left at the top of the cliffside, Sasuke immedietly let his seal consume him once more. His skin and hair changed, and the wings appeared.

"No...Naruto-kun..." Hinata gently cupped her hands on his cheeks. "No! Please, come back."

"Come on Sakura." Sasuke wrapped his left arm around Sakura's waist and lifted her up. "Hinata!" He grabbed ahold of the Hyuga and lifted her up too, but she put up a fight.

"NO! Naruto-kun, I won't leave you!" Hinata kept her hands on Naruto, not wanting to part from him. "Let me go!"

"I'm sorry, I can't." Sasuke pulled Hinata, and she finally released her grip.

Sasuke jumped up and flapped his wings, soaring up back to higher grounds. Sakura and Hinata looked back down as they saw Naruto's lifeless body disappeared into the fog below.

* * *

From the top of the mountain, Orochimaru bursted out from underneath. He carried small scars on his face, but none were too severe.

"Those two have really grown powerful." He said.

"Orochimaru!"

The pale-skinned Sannin look behind him and saw Sasuke standing there. His eyes glared down the snake master with the power of the Sharingan. Sakura and Hinata kneeled as Sasuke walked away from them and towards Orochimaru, his cursed seal transformation slowly fading off of him.

"Sasuke-kun, what a pleasant surprise." Orochimaru smiled, "Come for more?"

"Just shut up." Sasuke said, "I'm gonna kill you and make sure you stay dead."

Orochimaru laughed at the remark, "And how do you plan to do that? Your Cursed Seal didn't kill me before, and niether did your Sharingan."

Sasuke closed his eyes. He looked back on his past life, before meeting Orochimaru, before betraying his village, before killing his best friend. All this happened, because of his personal issue of revenge. Right now, he was going to avenge his fallen friend. Itachi can wait for another day. "My brother was able to stop you with his power. Since the blood of the Uchiha runs in my veins, I will have the power to kill you. _Mangekyou Sharingan_." He opened his eyes, revealing the new power of his Sharingan.

"No.." Orochimaru showed a sign of fear. "It can't be."

"Let's finish this." Sasuke said.

* * *

**Of course, Sasuke hasn't obtained the Mangekyou in the anime/manga this way, but who cares? I want him to have it, so this is how he gets it. He said he would try and obtain the mangekyou another way, but look at this? He ends up killing Naruto in the end. But don't worry, I told you guys already, I love happy endings, so be prepared.**

**If some of you are wondering what I made Sasuke's mangekyou look like, well, I don't really have a visual. But I'll let you guys use your imagination for it.**

**Please remember to review.**


	30. Honor the Promise of a Lifetime

**Well, we're getting more closer to the end of the story. I understand that some of you are unhappy with what I did to Naruto, but when I said I like happy endings, I meant it. Killing Naruto is definitely NOT a happy ending, you'll just have to wait.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

**This leaves two more chapters.**

* * *

Sasuke and Orochimaru stood facing eachother, preparing for one more fight. Sasuke's Mangekyou was activated as he stared with rage in him.

"You're the reason why Naruto's dead." Sasuke said, "I will kill you for that."

"So Naruto is now dead?" Orochimaru asked, "But then, I can see you have the Mangekyou, wouldn't that mean you have killed him for that power?"

"All of this was because of you!" Sasuke yelled, "Its because of you I became this, you're the reason why we're all here. Its your that Naruto's dead!"

"My fault?" Orochimaru asked, "Wasn't it you who killed him?"

"Shut up." Sasuke charged at Orochimaru with his chokuto. Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and a snake''s head slithered out. The snake then opened its mouth and the Kusanagi blade shot out. Sasuke quickly backed away, but knew that the blade was coming too quickly. As he fell back, he suddenly found himself sitting on the ground beside Sakura and Hinata. "What?"

"Sasuke-kun, what was that?" Sakura asked.

"I...I don't know."

Orochimaru looked in disappointment when he missed his target, but was surprised when he found that Sasuke wasn't at the same spot. He saw that he was now with Sakura and Hinata. Sasuke got up. He was still trying to understand what had just happened. As he tried to think, he noticed it. With his Mangekyou, he was able to see many circular objects floating around the area. While looking at them, he knew what they were; dimensional portals. He finally understood how he was able to avoid Orochimaru's attack. Sasuke walked forward, with determination in him. He ran forward once more, but this time, he quickly jumped to the side and disappeared.

"What?" Orochimaru was shocked with what had happened. He then felt a sudden jolt of pain on his back. Sasuke now stood behind him and had delivered a strong punch from behind, and a strange portal was behind him. It then disappeared once all of Sasuke's body was out.

Sasuke then spun around and slammed his heel at Orochimaru's face, which sent him skidding across the ground. As Orochimaru laid on the ground, Sasuke jumped up with his fist forward. Another portal opened up and Sasuke disappeared inside it. Another portal opened up from underneath Orochimaru and Sasuke came out, performing an uppercut at Orochimaru. The pale-skinned Sannin was now up in the sky. Sasuke jumped forward and into another portal, which sent him up in the sky right in front of Orochimaru, he punched him again, and fell into a portal. Sasuke repeated this process of teleporting into a portal and appeared close enough to Orochimaru to attack him. He ended it with one final teleportation from above and dropped on Orochimaru. Sasuke panted heavily in exhaustion, the use of these prtals was taking a heavy strain on him, perhaps it was better to not have used it too many times. The use of the portals seemed to have used up a large portion of his chakra, he was able to feel the low level of chakra in him.

"It seems the use of the Mangekyou is taking its toll on you already." Orochimarued smiled in evil delight.

Sasuke panted as he was out of breath and out of ideas. He didn't want to risk using the Mangekyou again, but he had nothing else. "It seems to me that you keep relying on jutsu's to stay alive. Why not fight me like a real man, why not fight and die by the sword?" Sasuke aimed his chokuto at Orochimaru.

"Fine then." Orochimaru slowly forced his sword out of his stomach. He retched out the snake's head, which produced the Kusanagi. He took the handle and pulled the remaining portion of the blade out. "Let's fight this way."

* * *

"Why won't he die?!" Ino screamed in panic.

The lava beast then shot out a river of lava towards the team. Neji and Shino quickly jumped out of the way, but Kakashi and Ino were late by a few seconds. As they feared the lava would harm them, a beam of wood shot out and someone grabbed the two off the ground.

"Sorry we're late Kakashi-senpai." Yamato said, "We were sidetracked."

"Where's your team?" Kakashi asked.

"Hinata and Sakura are dealing with Naruto and Sasuke." Yamato answered, "I came here with Sai. I thought we could help deal with Naikito."

The beam of wood came to a safe location for the four to land on. They hid behind a large pillar of stone that kept them away from Naikito's view. Neji and Shino joined the four in a matter of seconds.

"Are you alright Ino-san?" Sai asked, "Are you hurt?"

Ino simply replied by jumping into Sai's arms and knocking him to the ground, "You saved me! Thank you!"

"This isn't the time for that, Ino." Kakashi said, "We still have Naikito here."

"Can't you just drown him?" Yamato asked.

"We did." Neji answered, "But even water isn't enough to deal with it."

"What about your Mangekyou?" Yamato asked, "Why not send him to another dimension?"

"I don't have enough power to get rid of something that big." Kakashi said, "I was lucky enough to make a hole big enough for him to fit in."

"We'll have to stick to using water." Sai said, "But how can we guarantee it'll work?"

"Not the water we had." Shino said, "But maybe if we use more water and more cold temperatures."

"How can we get more water?" Kakashi asked.

"The sky."

"What?"

Everyone looked up to the sky. As if Shino's words were a cue for the action, the sky was now darker, from the clouds covering the sky. Rain clouds were above them. "Of course." Kakashi looked back at Naikito, who was oblivous to where the team was hiding. "The intense heat from Naikito is causing rain clouds to appear."

"If we can find a way to make the temperature of the rain be as cold as possible, we might be able to get rid of Naikito for good." Sai said, "But none of us know any jutsu for temperature changes."

Something in Kakashi's mind clicked. "Naruto knows one." Kakashi said, "He used it the last time we fought Naikito in Suna."

"Do you remember it Kakashi-sensei?" Shino asked.

"Yes, but for something that big, I'll need as much chakra as I can muster up."

"I think I may have a plan." Sai said.

* * *

Sasuke slashed at full energy at Orochimaru, who handled the sword very well. The two fought with their Kusanagi as they tried to lay a perfect strike on the other. As Orochimaru swung his blade around, Sasuke managed to skin him at the wrist with the tip of hi blade. Orochimaru released his grip on his sword from the cut. Seeing this as a chance, Sasuke quickly thrusted his blade for a stab, but Orochimaru knew this would happen. He dodged the blade and opened his mouth, which brought out a snake. The snake then bit Sasuke's hand and forced him to release his sword.

"Dammit!" Sasuke grabbed his wrist. No doubt, the snake bit him with poison, but luckily, he was able to heal from that. The cut faded and he was now left with no wound from the bite.

With both their swords lost, the two had to rely on jutsu's breaking the 'rule' of their duel. The two kneeled to the ground and formed to hand seals; Snake and Tiger, "_Sen'eijashu_(Hidden Shadow Snake Hand)!" Snakes came out from each of their sleeves and shot out at eachother. When the snakes hit, it was a bloodfest. The snakes bit at eachother and blood just splashed out from them. Soon, the two were left with no snakes, only their remains and severed heads. Sasuke knew that Orochimaru wouldn't abide to his side of the agreement any longer, he knew that he would go to jutsus eventually.

"You know I wasn't the honoring type." Orochimaru grinned. He then made the summoning seals as he wiped some blood off his clothes. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_(Summoning Technique)! Come out Manda!"

Sakura and Hinata gasped as a large cloud of smoke consumed the area, but what they were left with was nothing more than a small snake.

"What?" Orochimaru glared at the petite reptile, "I asked for Manda."

"Sorry Orochimaru, I forgot to tell you." Sasuke said, "Manda's dead. Took on a clay bomb at full force." He prepared to run at Orochimaru as he was now shocked by the news of Manda's death.

"I will not show any mercy to you Sasuke-kun!" He watched ahead as he saw Sasuke run up to him. "_Shikumi no Jutsu_(Death Forseeing Technique)!" Orochimaru glared at Sasuke with his eyes, and from there, Sasuke was taken in.

* * *

"Sounds like a good plan." Ino said.

"Better than nothing." Neji responded, "Let's do it."

"Good, then everyone, buy me some time." Kakashi ordered, "Yamato, I need you to stay and protect me in case something goes wrong."

"Hai." Yamato nodded. He then turned to the team, "Go!"

The others all ran out and split, going in different directions. Ino and Yamato were the only two that stayed behind. Naikito was distracted with the shinobi running around, but knew that Kakashi was hiding somewhere, but couldn't find out where. He thought that maybe it was best to kill them one by one and draw Kakashi out, so he began to throw lava at them as they ran around. While this was going on, Kakashi prepared for the plan. He made some seals for the jutsu; Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. "_Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu_(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" He aimed it upwards and shot out a large fireball to the sky. With Naikito's attention away from him, the giant fireball was unnoticed by him.

With the distracting shinobi, they were starting to become a bigger nuisance to Naikito. He then launched himself in the direction of one of them and attempted to simply drown him in lava. His target at the moment was Sai. Sai stopped in his tracks when he saw the large mass of lava coming towards him. But then, a large wooden beam emerged from underneath and carried him to a safe distance, but broke apart when the lava hit the wood. Sai looked back at Yamato and nodded, the best way he could say 'thank you' from a long distance.

Kakashi looked up at the sky, more clouds were starting to form and the quiet sound of thunder was present. _Just a little more. _While the plan was in motion to keep Naikito at bay, Kakashi couold sense the storm was coming. With a few more seconds passing, a drop of rain finally came. It was finally done, the rain had come. The rain began to pour heavily over the area, and the lava was now hissing with steam. Naikito's movements were starting to slow down.

The time was now.

"_Fuuton: Touketsu Toppuu_(Wind Release: Freezing Gust)!" Kakashi inhaled deeply and blew out a large gust of cold wind. Yamato and Ino stood behind him, channeling their chakra into him to give him more power. Even after a few seconds, all three of them could feel the strain and large use of chakra.

Naikito began to move more slowly now. With the rain pouring down on him to cause a strain, the cold wind was making the water freeze on him.

_Just a little more._ Kakashi still pushed himself to blow. He wasn't sure how much longer he could let the air in him blow out, but it was needed to defeat Naikito.

Yamato and Ino focused with channeling as much chakra they could into Kakashi. Failure wasn't going to be accepted in this. Slowly, the large lava beast was starting to harden from the bottom. The bright orange lava was now hardening into solid black and travelling up the body and towards his head. In the last bit of struggle, Kakashi blew out more air and finally, the head was hardened. Kakashi fell to the ground from exhaustion.

"_Mokuton: Taihai_(Wood Release: Crushing Defeat)." Yamato put his hand together in a rabbit seal and held it together. Around the large rock solid figure of Naikito, large pillars of wood came from the ground and surrounded it. Yamato then formed a tiger seal, this action caused the large wooden pillars to slam into eachother, which also came in contact with Naikito. The hits caused the large statue to crumble and then shatter into small fragments of hardened lava.

"It's over at last." Kakashi sighed in relief, "He's gone."

"We did it!" Ino jumped for joy, "We did it!"

Everyone else dropped to the ground in relief. Their threat was now over, Orochimaru was all that was left now.

* * *

(Just so you all know, the whole use of rain was taking place in an isolated area, so the place Sasuke is in doesn't have any rain)

_Sasuke looked around and saw that he was trapped in the technique. All he could do was wait for4 what was to come. He then saw it, he saw the vision coming to him. He found himself staring at a figure that looked exactly like him. He found that this 'Sasuke' was fighting against 'Itachi'. 'Sasuke' ran at Itachi with his sword, only to be knocked aside with one backhand. 'Sasuke' quickly spun around to try and slice from behind, but 'Itachi' got to him first. He pulled out a kunai and caught 'Sasuke's' arm with it. He then sliced around the arm and dug deep into the flesh. When he pulled away from the arm, 'Sasuke' was left without his right arm._

"No..." Sasuke tried to fight the image from his mind.

_'Sasuke' charged at 'Itachi', using his left arm to hold his sword. 'Itachi' still had the advantage of the fight, and with 'Sasuke' having one arm, the advantage was greater. 'Itachi' then ducked down and sliced the kunai right across 'Sasuke's' side. Blood flowed from the wound and a scream of pain came. 'Itachi' then slammed his hand at 'Sasuke's' back, plunging the kunai through him. 'Itachi' then pulled it out and proceeded to slice at Sasuke, making deep cuts at his limbs and making him bleed. To finish this, 'Itachi' brought the blade to 'Sasuke's' neck and sliced through. 'Sasuke' now stood with blood gushing out of his throat and gurgling from the loss of blood._

"NOO!!" Sasuke grabbed his head and closed his eyes tightly, but even with his eyes closed, he could see his death before him.

_'Itachi' wasn't over yet. He now began tstab at 'Sasuke' with his kunai, piercing his flesh and making blood come out._

"NO MORE!!" Sasuke channeled his electrical chakra into his hand and a blade extended towards his vision. The blade hit through the illusion and pierced Orochimaru. The long blade pierced through the snake sannin's chest and he was pushed back by the force. Orochimaru was now pinned to the wall of a mountainside. The area around the both faded away and returned to being what it once was; the edge of the cliffside. Sasuke's eyes were now filled with the swirling black of the Mangekyou once again.

_Impressive, he broke through it, but it still won't be enough. _"Foolish little boy, you think that will keep me in place?" Orochimaru asked.

"Not now." Sasuke then channeled more chakra into the blade, "But this will." Suddenly, eight chidori blades shot out from the wall.

"What is this?" Orochimaru asked in surprise. He grabbed the blade that was in his chest, but it didn't budge, "Why can't this move?"

"I made sure that the blade can't be moved. I split the end of the blade into eight points, making sure you can't move the blade from its spot." Sasuke removed his hand, but the blade remained in place, "Now I'm going to make sure you stay dead." He grabbed his left wrist with his right hand and channled more chakra. His hand produced a large amount of lightning chakra, for he was preparing for a chidori.

"A simple chidori will do no good against me." Orochimaru said, grinning with psychotic delight, "I know of its weakness and how to avoid death from it."

_He's right. He's seen me use chidori for so long, he knows everything about it._ With the chidori finally complete in form, Sasuke put his right hand over the chakra. _Naruto, this is for you. I've been trying to sever bonds with you, but this will repair them._ He then channeled a new type of chakra into the chidori, focusing hard on merging the two. Successfully, the lightning chakra was now merged with his fire chakra. He now held a fireblade that sparked with electricty around it. He looked up at Orochimaru, seeing that the snake was now terrified. "For Naruto!" He ran at Orochimaru, keeping his new jutsu in shape. As he got closer, he thrusted his left hand forward, "_Chi Gouendori_(One Thousand Phoenix)!"

* * *

_Sasuke walked through a large grassfield. The sun shined brightly and covered the field with its radiance. He walked along, heading to what was up ahead of him, a person, but not just anyone, some one he knew very well._

_"Sasuke..." The person turned around to face Sasuke._

_"Naruto?" Sasuke instantly recognized the whiskers on his face._

_"I guess this means I failed my mission." Naruto frowned, "A promise of a lifetime only lasts for a one lifetime."_

_"You didn't fail Naruto." Sasuke said. He smiled to try and put a sile back on Naruto's face, "You gave up your life to give me hope. I'll use this power I have to honor you. Not just as a friend, but as a brother."_

_Naruto's frown faded and a smile crept over his face, "As brothers...That sounds nice. I love you Sasuke."_

_"I love you too Naruto."_

_Naruto then brought out a hand, "You're not done yet. Are you ready?"_

_Sasuke brought out his hand to accept the one Naruto offered._

* * *

The attack hit Orochimaru and for the first time in a long time, Orochimaru screamed in pain. He felt the fire of the attack burn into his flesh and the electricity sent surges of pain all through his body. A bright light came from the attack and covered Sasuke and Orochimaru. Sakura and Hinata covered his faces from the light and debris, waiting for it to end. Once the light faded, the two looked at Sasuke's location and saw only him and the charred corpse of Orochimaru.

He was finally gone. The pitiful snake was finally dead at Sasuke's hands. Sasuke fell to the ground, falling flat on his back as he sighed in relief. Suddenly, the ground around him broke apart and something pushed out from the cracks. Wood. The roots wrapped around Sasuke and held him in place, and a thin root wrapped around his eyes. Hinata and Sakura looked to their left and saw Yamato holding a seal as Kakashi, Shino, Shikamaru, Sai, Ino, and Neji arrived. Sai quickly ran to Sasuke and held his blade at Sasuke's throat.

"Don't try anything Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"I won't." Sasuke responded, rather calmly.

Kakashi was sure that he would try to resist, but was surprised when he heard Sasuke cooperate. He looked at the corpse that was at Sasuke's feet, no doubt that it was recently put there, but was far from identifying. Kakashi looked carefully at the remains and saw many burnt remains of moulted snake skin, both inside and outside the body. This was indeed Orochimaru's body. Kakashi looked at Hinata and Sakura, "Are you two alright?"

"Yes, we're fine." Sakura answered.

Kakashi then looked around the area, "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura and Hinata simply looked over the edge of the cliff. Words weren't needed for everyone to realize what had happened. Sakura looked down to the ground and Hinata covered her eyes as she began to cry once more.

In all ends, two friends have achieved what they longed for.

One to become stronger for revenge, one to bring his friend back home.

Though the price was high, both missions were complete.

The price? A life.

* * *

**Well, end of that chapter. Finally, things are settled.**

**For Sasuke's new jutsu, the _Chi Gouendori_; It's real translation is One thousand great flaming birds, but since a flaming bird could be similar to a phoenix, I changed it to that.**

**I've been waiting to use Sasuke's Mangekyou concept for a long time. After seeing Kakashi's Mangekyou involve teleporting other objects to another dimension, I thought that maybe Sasuke's could do the same. But then, I looked back at Itachi's and how his was different in technique and look. So I decided to change Sasuk'es Mangekyou power to giving him the power to teleport to other locations.**

**Don't worry, it's not godlike, I made some limitations;  
He can only teleport through dimensional portals in his range(which isn't too far off)  
It drains alot of chakra.**

**Please remember to review.**


	31. End of All Things

**Ok, Naruto's dead, Sasuke's back and ready to go to Konoha, Orochimaru's finally dead, and all that's left is for them to arrive at Konoha.**

**We still have one last chapter before the conclusion. So be prepared for what I have in store for you guys this chapter.**

**Please enjoy it.**

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk in the Hokage office. Its been weeks since she sent Naruto and his team out to get Sasuke. She was beginning to worry when they would return. She looked outside and saw that it was raining. The clouds covered the sun that it made the early afternoon seem like the middle of the night. She couldn't help but get a small chill in her when she looked at the rain. Something about this weather made her feel uneasy.

"Hokage-sama." A jounin entered the office. "The team has returned. They have Sasuke."

Tsuande quickly followed the jounin out of the office and to the gates. _Naruto, you really got him back._

The rain was weak, but enough time outside could soak anyone in a matter of time. She didn't bother to get anything to cover her head, all she cared about was the success of the mission.

* * *

The team walked towards the gate. A few jounin already met with them earlier and accompanied them back to Konoha. Kakashi led the group, with Yamato behind. Sasuke's hands were bound and connected to a rope that was in Kakashi's hand. Sakura and Hinata, Shikamaru, and Ino walked behind Yamato with the remaining jounin behind them.

Once they reached the gate, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and other shinobi were waiting for them.

"Took longer than I expected." Tsuande said, "But at least you have Sasuke back."

Kakashi didn't answer.

"Kakashi, what is it?" She looked behind him and saw that Naruto was missing. "Where's Naruto?"

The team put their heads down. The mention of Naruto's name was something they could bear to hear at the moment. Hinata covered her eyes as she began to cry.

"Kakashi, where is Naruto?" Tsunade demanded.

Kakashi pulled something out of the pouch on his vest. He gave the object to Tsunade as he continued to walk. As everyone followed, Tsuande was left with a shocked look on her face when she saw what was given back to her. The necklace that was given to her by her grandfather, then given to Naruto. The very necklace that she gave to the one who would someday be the next Hokage, it was back in her possession. She saw the two jounin walk past her, carrying a mat that had a body covered by a sheet. She didn't need to look inside to know who it was. As everyone left, she was left alone with just Jiraiya. She dropped on her knees and screamed.

Screaming loud and in pain.

Her greatest fear had come back to her. Her necklace of death still had a purpose to accomplish, and that purpose had been made.

* * *

_Naruto opened his eyes. He found himself in a strange place. Everything looked so beautiful. He found himself lying in a garden with a stream. There were flowers blooming everywhere and the sky was bright and blue. The sun shined brightly on him._

_"Where am I?"_

_He got up and looked around. He didn't see anyone around, not a single person, not even an animal. No rabbit, no dog, not even an insect. It was like he was in Utopia. He turned around and fell back in surprise when he saw someone looking straight at him._

_"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."_

_"Huh?" Naruto quickly got up, "Zabuza?"_

_"You still remember me?" He asked, "I'm glad you do." His appearance was just like how he was when they first met, albeit, without the bandage wrapping around his face, or the many battle scars he carried before his death._

_"Where am I?" Naruto asked, "And why are you here?"_

_"Well, I died." Zabuza answered, "So I think its safe to assume you are too."_

_Naruto's eyes widened, "I'm dead?"_

_"Afraid so."_

_"But you still have a chance." A figure suddenly came into view. The robes that this person wore instantly made Naruto remember_

_"Haku?" Naruto looked at him in surprise, "So this is...heaven?"_

_"You still have a chance to live again." Haku smiled, "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."_

_"Why?" Naruto asked, "How do I still have a chance to live?"_

_"Because it isn't your time yet." Haku answered._

_Naruto looked around the place. This place felt perfect, he wondered if he really did want to leave this place. It was so beautiful, he wouldn't have to worry about anymore troubles here. But then he remembered what he would leave behind if he stayed. Hinata._

_"You gave up your life for a friend." Haku said, "You accepted death with open arms to help him. That should be enough to entitle you with another chance at life."_

_"How can I get back?"_

_"Through here?" Naruto looked to follow the other voice. Standing by a doorway on a mountain face was Chiyo. "Did you miss me Uzumaki Naruto?"_

_"Chiyo-baa-sama." Naruto was surprised that he was starting to see the faces of people who had died._

_"I guess I can't play dead here anymore." Chiyo smiled, "Considering I'm already dead."_

_Naruto chuckled. He turned his attention to the door. "What's past that door?"_

_"Your world." Chiyo answered, "Enter through these doors, you can go back home. You can return to your body and live once more, fufill your lifespan."_

_"But it won't be easy." Zabuza said._

_"And the door is protected by a strong force. Those wishing to go back have to break that force if they want to open the door." Haku explained, "None of us have ever tried, for we didn't want to go back, and no one has ever been able to get through."_

_Naruto looked at the door. It seemed quite ordinary, nothing supernatural about it, but seeing that it was the way back to the living world, it must be near impossible to get the doors open. "Well, why is this door here in the first place?"_

_"Originally, spirits of heaven were allowed to enter through the doors to visit their loved ones." Haku explained._

_"But some spirits began to take advantage of the oppurtunity to return home." Zabuza said, "As punishment, the door was sealed and prevented from opening."_

_"Well, what makes you think that I can make it through?" Naruto asked._

_"You have the power."_

_Naruto was now looking at the once Third Hokage. "You're here too?" He pointed a finger at him in surprise._

_"Well, I am dead aren't I?" Sarutobi asked. "I have to say, you truly grew into a fine man. I can hardly recognize that immature boy from all those years ago" He laughed, remembering how Naruto was once a very childish little boy, but now he had become a grown adult. "Naruto, I know you have the power to make this possible."_

_"How? If I had the power, I wouldn't even be here." Naruto said, "What makes you think I have that kind of power?"_

_"There was one other who made it through the doors." Chiyo said, "I believe you may know him."_

_"Gaara of the Sand." The Third spoke, "You remember that he died once, but was returned to life. Well with Chiyo's help, Gaara was able to go through those doors."_

_"But he had help back then. What makes you think I can do this alone?"_

_"Because you are the son of the greatest shinobi ever." The Third answered._

_"What?" Naruto asked, "The son of who?"_

_"The son of the greatest shinobi." Another voice said, "My son."_

_"Huh?" Naruto was now starting to meet some more faces, but the next person was one he didn't expect._

* * *

"Naruto was a boy who never asked for anything large." Tsunade said, "All he wanted was to be accepted by everyone, he wanted to be loved. But now it seems he can no longer have that."

It was now the night of the day Naruto's body was brought to the village. Tsunade prepared for a fineral to honor Naruto. Everyone in the village gathered for this event. Everyone began to feel greatly upset. The villagers began to regret their actions towards him when he was younger. He had never done anything to hurt them, yet they hurt him so much. Hinata tried to fight back her tears. She had been crying for so much every since the day Naruto had died, bow she was at his funeral, waiting for his burial.

"We will remember him, and remember the great things he has done for us all, never asking for anything in return." Tsunade spoke again, "Hinata, please come and light the fire."

Hinata walked towards Tsunade and accepted the small torch that she had been holding. She walked towards Naruto's body and lit the four torches that were on each corner of the stone table. Seeing him like this was now making her tears come more, and become more difficult to fight back. She dropped the torch and fell on her knees, unable to control her emotions. Neji quickly ran to her side and helped her get back to her seat. A jounin came and picked up the torch and carried it back to the stand that was next to Tsunade.

"Everyone. Give a prayer for Naruto." Tsunade commanded.

* * *

_"I know you." Naruto said, pointing to the man, "You're the Fourth Hokage."_

_"That's right." He smiled. The man stood before Naruto, dressed in the standard Hokage robes, with his jounin vest underneath it. "My name's Minato Namikaze, but I'm sure you knew that."_

_Naruto was surprised with how he looked so similar to him, "You just told me that I'm your son. How? I'm the Kyuubi's reincarnation."_

_Minato sighed, "Well, clearly you don't know my side of the story."_

_"What other side is there? I've heard so many different stories. First; I was told that my parents abandoned me, then they say they died because of the Kyuubi. Mizuki tells me that I'm the container of the Kyuubi and after three years Iruka-sensei tells me that I'm the Kyuubi's reincarnation. Are they all lies?!" Naruto asked. He was starting to get very angry. He's been told so many things about himself, he now didn't know which ones were true and which ones were completely made up. "What's the truth? Am I human? A youma? Who the hell am I? _What_ the hell am I?!"_

_"You are my son." Minato said, "My one and only son."_

_"How can I be?"_

_"Sit down, Naruto." Minato sat on the grass, waiting for Naruto to sit with him. When he did, Minato began, "You know that the Kyuubi attacked the village and killed so many people. You know that you are the Kyuubi and that there was a seal put on you to make sure the Kyuubi's evil doesn't break free. And finally, you know that I died to make that seal."_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, when the Kyuubi attacked, you were just a few months old. Because of the attack, you were close to dying." Minato looked back to his memories of when baby Naruto was almost dead, "I wanted to save you, but I was limited in possibilities. I defeated the Kyuubi and performed a sealing technique on it. My jutsu was to transferr the Kyuubi's lifespan into something else. I offered your body, hoping that it may save your life."_

_"You...you did what?" Naruto asked, completely shocked._

_"What I didn't expect was that the Kyuubi would become the body. You may be the Kyuubi in body and mind..." Minato reached out to point to Naruto's chest, "...but at heart and soul, you are my son."_

_Naruto was now shocked by how Minato did so much for him, _Someone really loved me this much when I was just a baby... _"...Ot-tou-chan?" Naruto still wasn't too sure if this was real, "Are you really..?"_

_"Yes, Naruto. I'm really your father." Minato smiled._

_Naruto threw himself at Minato and wrapped his arms around him., burying his face in his chest. "Otou-chan..." Never couldn't remember how long its been since he cried this much, "Why did you have to give your life up for me?"_

_"I was hoping that you would be saved and that we can be happy together, but the jutsu had side effects." Minato answered, "I never calculated the outcomes of using this jutsu on a youma. It needed a sacrifice of two bodies; one to make the jutsu take affect, and another to keep the seal locked."_

_"Another?" Naruto asked, liftng himself from Minato._

_"Yes. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki." Minato said, "It was her love for you that compelled her to be the next sacrifice. It was her love that made you the kind, caring person you are to this day." He turned back and looked in the horizon to see someone approuching them._

_Naruto looked in the same direction. The figure slowly began to get in better view. Naruto could see that it was a woman, a woman with long red hair. "Who is that?"_

_"That's her." Minato smiled, "Go say 'hi' to her."_

_Naruto got up and ran ahead. He ran as fast as he could to get to her. "Okaa-chan!" He began to get closer and closer to the one who was meant to be his mother. Once he reached her, he threw his arms around her, buried his face on her shoulder and cried._

_"Naruto? You're here?" Kushina hugged him back, "You shouldn't be here. Its not your time yet."_

_"I can't leave now." Naruto said, "Not after seeing you. I don't want to leave."_

_"Naruto, you have to." Minato said, "You can't stay here, knowing that you still have a life to live."_

_"But I just got to know you both. I finally have a family again." Naruto said, "I don't want to leave you guys. Don't take me back please, I want to stay here with you."_

_"Naruto, we'll still be together." Kushina smiled, "We'll always be in your heart. As long as you remember us, we'll always be there."_

_Naruto couldn't hold back his tears. He hugged his mother once more. Minato kneeled down and hugged the two. After a long moment of a loving embrace between family, they broke apart, "Naruto, you must go through the doors."_

_Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes, "Will I see you guys again?"_

_"When the day comes that you are meant to be here, we'll be waiting for you." Kushina smiled, "No matter how long we have to wait, we'll be here."_

_"Alright." Naruto forced a smile on his face._

* * *

With the prayers now complete, they prepared for the burial. Naruto's grave was already dug up, and waiting for the body. Hinata looked on as they prepared to carry Naruto's body off the table and into the grave.

"Wait!" Hinata ran ahead.

"Hinata-sama." Neji tried to stop her, but was too slow to stop her.

"Hinata, stop!" Sakura tried to catch her, but she too was not fast enough.

Hinata stopped at Naruto's body and hugged him tightly. "Naruto-kun, please don't ever forget me. I won't forget about you." As she hugged the body once more, she felt something against her chest. After another few seconds, she felt it again. It was coming from Naruto. She let go of Naruto and activated her Byakugan. "It can't be."

"What is it?" Tsuande walked to Hinata.

Hinata looked at Naruto's chest. Suddenly, another thump occured and his veins had a sudden shot of chakra. "He has a heartbeat."

Everyone got up from their seats in shock. After hearing Hinata say that Naruto had a heartbeat, they all gathered around the body for proof.

* * *

_Naruto panted heavily as he stood in front of the doors. He clenched his fists into a ball and punched at the doors once more._

* * *

_Thump!_

"She's telling the truth." Neji said, who also had his Byakugan on. "But its very slow."

Sakura, Sasuke, and everyone else gather around Naruto. They all waited for something to happen, waiting for a miracle.

* * *

_"I...can't...do...this." Naruto panted, "Its...its to strong."_

_"That's not the Naruto I remember fighting." Haku said, "You never gave up from anything, why give up now?"_

_"We all believe in you kid." Zabuza said, "Don't make our hopes go to waste."_

_"The doors are too strong." Naruto said._

_"So was everyone you fought in life." Chiyo said, "But you defeated them in the end."_

_"This is different." Naruto said._

_"No it's not." Sarutobi said, "Its only different because you want it to be. The strength of the doors are no different than the strength of all your enemies. You just have to keep your head up and break through it all."_

_"Naruto, you're our son." Minato said, speaking for his wife, "And if you really are Kushina's child, you will never give up from anything."_

_Naruto smiled. He had all these people to support him, he wasn't going to back down now. Gathering more strength, he punched at the door once more. He wasn't going to give up, he had too much on the line. He couldn't leave his friends, he couldn't leave Hinata. Especially not Hinata. With more fuel in him, he punched at the doors again._

* * *

_Thump!...Thump!...Thump!_

The heartbeat began to come more quickly, but it still wasn't fast enough. Hinata's Byakugan was able to see Naruto's chakra veins be filled with chakra each time the heartbeat came, but fade when it stopped.

"Please, Naruto-kun..." Hinata begged, "Please come back."

* * *

_Naruto began to punch at the doors with more strength and speed, until finally, the broke the doors open. He fell on his knees from exhaustion and panted heavily._

_"You did it!" Kushina cheered, "That's my son!"_

_Naruto smiled, "Thanks." He turned to his parents, "I'm gonna miss you."_

_"We'll miss you too, Naruto." Minato smiled, "But this isn't good-bye."_

_"I know." Naruto walked into the light that was once hidden by the doors. Upon walking past the doors, they shut behind him, sealing the light from the other side._

* * *

Hinata continued to look at his heart. Her mind was filled with joy when she saw his heartbeat come much faster.

_Thump!..Thump!..Thump!.Thump!ThumpThumpThump!_

Naruto took in a deep breath as he threw himself off his back. He looked around see that everyone was staring at him. "Hi guys." He panted heavily. He felt so great to be alive once more.

Hinata threw herself on Naruto in joy. Naruto hugged her back. "I'm so glad you're back, Naruto-kun."

"So am I." Naruto smiled. He stroked her hair gently, he was glad that he was back. He couldn't leave Hinata alone. No, he knew it was best to have come back. His father was right, he still had a life to live. After they parted from their hug, Naruto moved in again and kissed her. He held the back of her hair gently and took in the sweet taste of the girl he loved.

"Aw, come on Naruto." Shikamaru said, "Not at a funeral, let alone your own."

Neither Naruto nor Hinata listened. Hinata reached up to hold Naruto's cheek in her right hand stroke his hair with her left. She no longer cared who was around. She didn't care if all of Konoha was watching, she no longer cared if her father was watching. She loved Naruto, and he meant more to her than anything else in the world.

"Naruto..."

Naruto pulled himself away from Hinata when he heard Tsunade say his name. "Baa-chan." He got off the table that he was laying on and approuched her. "We have things to talk about. Alot of things."

* * *

**Some of you may be disappointed in how I decided to bring Naruto back, but I couldn't think of anything else that was original. One thought was that Tsunade gives up her life to bring him back, but that was already done with Chiyo and Gaara. Even if I went with that, who would take over as Hokage? Danzo was definitely not an option, I doubt the people would approve of Naruto at the time, and Jiraiya already declined before. Another thought was that Naruto didn't really die to begin with, but the Byakugan would've instantly noticed that. My final thought was that Naruto ends up in the afterlife and travels through a dangerous path to get back to the human world, but God of War has done that as well.**

**I really don't care whether you liked this or not, but I needed Naruto back for the sequels.**

**I'm starting to see that this story has become quite a fantasy-like story. I mean; Sasuke can teleport with the use of his mangekyou, Naruto comes back from the dead after seeing his father, who knows what I'll do next.**

**There's still one more chapter before I finish.**

**Please review.**


	32. Conclusions and Happy Endings

**Yay! Naruto lives again. I just realized that I killed Naruto twice in this story, that's amazing. Oh well, who cares about that now, he's alive. Hinata is happy again.**

**We are now at the final chapter of the story. After this, I will be on break from this series to work on my other stories. The sequel will probably be released in September, maybe sooner.**

**Until then, you'll have to be patient. Writing is an art.**

**Please enjoy.**

* * *

All of Konoha gathered for at the main center of the village for this day. A Missing-nin of their village was caught and now to be executed. The villagers were surrounding a platform that had a wooden pole in the center. Sasuke Uchiha was bound to the pole from his ankles and his chest. In the crowd, many of his past friends were there to see it; Sakura, Shikamaru, Lee, Ino, and everyone else. All of them were there, except one. Tsunade was the only one who was also on the platform, for her role as the Hokage was needed for the execution.

"Uchiha, Sasuke, you are here to face the charges of your crime as the Missing-nin of our village of Konoha." Tsunade's voice was raised so that everyone could here. "Being in league with Orochimaru and the attempted death of shinobi during your time as a Missing-nin." She turned to Sasuke, who had his head down in defeat. "Do you deny these charges?"

"No." Sasuke boldly answered, "I confess to them."

Tsunade looked at him in pity. She knew that Naruto didn't want him dead, but his crimes were in need of punishment. "I'm truly sorry Sasuke." She whispered to him.

"Don't be." Sasuke responded, "I deserve this."

"Alright then." Tsunade turned back to the gathering mass, "Since you have confessed to these charges, the punishment is hereby, carried out. You are to be executed on the spot." Several ANBU stood on one side of the foot of the platform, having kunais ready.

Sakura knew she didn't want to see this, but she wanted to see Sasuke's face for one last time before he would be lifeless. Kakashi, being a Jounin and his past sensei, was forced to witness this execution. The ANBU prepared their kunai, taking their aim and waiting for the command to throw. Tsunade turned away and closed her eyes.

"Now." She regretably ordered.

Th ANBU threw their kunais, but what shocked everyone who was witnessing the exucution was that the kunais suddenly deflected off of other kunais that were thrown from a different direction. Naruto stood on one of the buildings near the scene and jumped to the platform. One ANBU got up on the platform with his sword drawn.

"Traitor!" The ANBU charged at Naruto.

Naruto ducked from a slice at his head and delivered a kick to the ANBU's head, but that wasn't enough. He took out a kunai and blocked the sword attacks, staying on the defensive for the entire time. When he found a good opening, he rammed himself at the ANBU and sent him off the platform and into the crowd. Naruto turned to Sasuke and cut the bonds with the kunai.

"Come on!" Naruto said.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, knowing fully well that this was insanity.

"Do you want to live?" Naruto asked, "Even if it was just for a little longer?"

"Naruto, this is my execution, I can't go against it."

"Well, I will!" Before he could say anymore, a fist came at his face. Naruto fell to the ground with a large thud.

"Naruto!" Sasuke pushed the ANBU off the platform and helped Naruto onto his feet. "If you plan to save me, you need to be awake for it."

Without answering, the two ran to the edge of the platform and jumped off. Sasuke landed at the base of the platform and ran, with Naruto following right behind.

"Stop them!" An ANBU ordered. One ANBU ran at the two, ready to stop them when they came up to him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto extended a hand to him. Sasuke took the hand and the two delivered a hard clothesline to the ANBU. The two continued to run from the ANBU behind them and clearing the way in front of them from any other ANBU.

As they came upon some more ANBU before them, Sasuke ran ahead of Naruto. He jumped up and landed a kick to the ANBU on his left and spun around to slam his heel at the ANBU on his right, before landing back down on the ground.

The two continued to run, getting closer to the gate. As they got closer, more ANBU appeared, standing between them and the gate. With their exit blocked, Naruto and Sasuke were trapped by them and the other shinobi. Tsunade arrived at the scene and approuched Naruto.

"I should have guessed that you would try to save him." Tsunade said, "You know that this is a crime."

"Of course I do." Naruto answered, "But I won't easy. If you want Sasuke, you're gonna have to get through me first."

"Naruto..." Tsunade was touched by this, but knew that she couldn't fall to his words. "Don't make this harder for me. Just because you're the son of the Fourth, it doesn't entitle you to break laws."

"Being Minato's son has nothing to do with this." Naruto talked back, "I grew up with everyone hating me. Even those I saw as kind and gentle, I could see that they secretly hid a small amount of hate, but they were too nice to show me that side. Sasuke was the first person I saw as someone who could possibly understand me. He became my best friend and the closest thing to a brother. If you are going to take that away from me, you can might as well send me back to my father." Naruto pulled out a kunai and placed the blade right by his throat.

Tsunade simply smiled at this, "You will never change will you? You're still that same little brat from when I first met you."

"So will you let Sasuke live?"

"Put the kunai away first, then we'll talk." Tsunade said.

* * *

(Three Months Later)

People of Konoha were all dressed in formal kimonos and gathering in a large banquet hall. The day had finally come that two would join together in martial bliss, those two were Neji and Tenten.

During the time between the day of Sasuke's canceled execution and tonight, Neji has been acting more strange than people often see him as. When Hinata was able to find a time to talk to Neji alone, he revealed that he had fallen in love with Tenten and wanted to propose, but admited that talking with a woman wasn't his best talents. With Hinata's help, he was able to understand to some extent on how he can treat Tenten with better respect. Lee, Naruto, and Kiba offered their opinions on how to propose to Tenten and make it one that she'll never forget. When the time came that he decided to finally ask the question, it was when Tenten achieved the rank of Jounin. Neji offered to take her to his place for the night, when they arrived, Tenten was shocked to find his entire apartment lit with candles. It was then, Neji proposed and she accepted. The moment would have been more enjoyable, if only Naruto didn't accidently fall out of the broom closet, along with Kiba and Lee coming out of their hiding places.

The engagement dinner was planned by Sakura and Ino, along with some help from Shizune.

"Naruto, we're gonna be late!" Sakura called out from outside Naruto's appartment.

The door opened and Naruto came out, standing in his kinomo robes. He wore a black robe that had an stitched design of a fox on the back in orange thread. His _hakama_(wide spread pants that look like skirts) was orange and wrapped with a black _obi_(Sash).

"How do I look?" Naruto asked.

"You look great." Sakura smiled, "Hinata's really gonna like it."

Naruto looked at Sakura, "You look great yourself." She wore a red kimono that had intricate designs of flowers in pink and green. Her hair was tied back into a bun for this formal occasion, which was something that she had never done regularly.

"Thanks." She blushed. "I was hoping that Sasuke might come, but I guess he still has time to commit."

When Tsunade agreed that Sasuke's execution wouldn't proceed and that he was free from the charges, he still had to be punished in some way. With the agreement of the elders and Naruto's regretable consent, Sasuke was to be imprisoned for a set amount of time.

"I'm sure he'd think the same way of you as I do." Naruto said. He knew that without Sasuke, she wouldn't have as much fun at this dinner, "Tell you what, when the time comes, I'll dance with you for a few songs."

"Really?" Sakura asked, "You don't have to, I mean, afterall, you have Hinata."

"She'll understand." Naruto smiled.

* * *

The dinner proceeded as any would; the guests arrived and were seated, the couple was intorduced and friends and family of the couple gave their best wishes to them. After the dinner was finished, it was the time for music and dancing.

Gaara and his siblings came to the engagement dinner to also give their best wishes to the happy couple, mainly because Temari wanted to enjoy a dinner with Shikamaru and thought that her brothers should join too.

Naruto had met with Hinata just outside of the banquet hall before going in. She wore a dark blue kimono that had white flowers on one sleeve and on the bottom of her skirt. Like Sakura, her hair was tied for this occasion. The table that Naruto and Hinata sat in was with Sakura, Ino, Kiba, and Shino. A table next to theirs had Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Lee, Choji, and Sai. As a regulation, Gaara, being the Kazekage, was seated at a table with Tsunade, along with others.

"I still can't believe Neji and Tenten are engaged." Ino smiled, "I thought Neji would never pop the question."

"Well you should have seen him when he tried to propose." Naruto giggled, "You could see his legs shaking and face sweating. Kiba even said that he could smell the sweat."

Tenten and Neji later arrived at their table when the music came on and other people got up to dance.

"Hi guys." Tenten smiled.

"Hey." Sakura got up form her chair and hugged her, "Congrats, Tenten."

"Thanks. I never thought I'd get engaged to Neji so soon." Tenten said, "I thought he'd take forever, though I didn't really like how Naruto ruined the moment."

Naruto grumbled as he drank a cup of sake. "He wouldn't have known how to propose if it wasn't for me." As a waiter came by, Naruto lifted his cup, "Could I get another please?" The waiter took the cup and left.

"Naruto-kun, you shouldn't drink so much." Hinata said, worrying for him.

"Hey, don't worry Hinata." Naruto smiled. He put an arm over Hinata's shoulders, "I can hold my liquor pretty well. I've occasionally drank while I was gone for the past three years, and Ero-sennin often took me out to drink during training."

"Wouldn't you have been underaged?" Tenten asked.

"He told me that learning to hold one's liquor was a step into being a man." Naruto said. The waiter came by with another cup for Naruto, "Arigato."

"Hey Neji, let's dance." Tenten grabbed his arm.

"Alright." Neji smiled, "Care to join us?"

"I'll be there." Ino said, getting up from her seat, "Let me just get Sai." She went over to Sai's table to get him for a dance.

With many of them on the dance floor dancing to a soft slow music, Sakura was still at her table watching it all. Seeing them all dacing and smiled with someone made her sad, she just couldn't handle seeing it. She got up from her table and left the banquet hall, going outside to the balcony. Naruto noticed her leaving as he was about to go dance with Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, it's Sakura." Naruto said, looking back at Hinata, "She was hoping to see Sasuke here. I'm really sorry, but I need to see if she's alright."

"It's ok." Hinata said, "Go see her."

"Thanks." He gave her a small kiss and left to go to the balcony to join Sakura. "Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto asked.

"Not really." Sakura answered, wiping some tears off her eyes. "I didn't think I'd feel so empty."

"I really wish Sasuke was here too." Naruto said. He wrapped his arms around Sakura and hugged her, "I'm sure he would have wanted to be here too."

"Am I late for the party?"

"Huh?" Both Naruto and Sakura looked behind them and saw someone that they did not expect.

"Sasuke?" Naruto was indeed surprised to find that Sasuke was here.

Sasuke wore a black kimono with a blue _hakama_. Sakura stared at him open jawed and eyes widened.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to serve time." Sakura said.

"Tsunade-sama managed to pull a few strings." Sasuke said. For the first time in a long time, Sasuke smiled. It wasn't a smirk or a grin, it was in fact a smile.

"Um..we should probably go back inside." Sakura said, "I'm sure Naruto would..." When she looked over to Naruto, he wasn't there anymore. When she looked back to Sasuke, he was now standing right in front of her. The closeness between the two made her blush brightly.

"I think I prefer this." Sasuke smiled.

"Sasuke..." Sakura turned away, trying to hide her smile and her red face. She brushed her hair off her face and leaned over on the railing of the balcony, resting her elbows on the rail. "You have no idea how long I've waited to be able to be with you like this."

"Actually, I do." Sasuke answered, leaning on one elbow which was on the rail. "Naruto filled me in on lots of things when I came back." He brought his hand to Sakura's face and gently brought her face towards him, "When we were a team, back when we were still Genin, I never really opened up to you, not because I wasn't interested, but I was afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?" Sakura asked.

"All I wanted was to kill my brother after what he did to our clan. That was the only thing in my mind and I thought that if I had someone in my life, someone I could care about, I was afraid of losing her because of my revenge. So I made it look like I wasn't interested and how I hated you." Sasuke answered. His smile faded away into a frown.

"Sasuke, you know you don't have to face this alone anymore." Sakura said, "People care about others so that they can help eachother. Naruto searched for you ever since you left because he wanted to help you. Maybe its time to try and have more people in your life."

Sasuke's frown slowly curled back up into a smile, "Maybe you're right." He leaned over to Sakura, and before she could recall what just happened, Sasuke's lips met with hers. The two closed their eyes and melted away into their moment. When they opened their eyes and parted their lips they were both blushing, "I'll start with you."

* * *

Inside the banquet hall, Naruto stood by the door and watched the two.

"Way to go Sasuke." Naruto smiled, speaking to himself. "It's about time."

Hinata noticed that Naruto was no longer at the table, but just outside the balcony. She walked over to him and when she was close to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "What are you doing out here?" She didn't need an answer, for it was in front of her. Sasuke and Sakura were in eachother's arms, kissing once more.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Naruto smiled.

"I'm so happy for her." Hinata smiled, "I haven't seen her smile that much in months."

Naruto reached over and held onto Hinata's hand, "What do you say, we go back inside for a dance?"

"Can you really dance?" Hinata asked.

"With you in my life, I feel like I can just glide through the air." Naruto said, "I'll let my feet fly."

Hinata simply smiled with a small blush as the two went back inside.

* * *

(A Few Days Later)

"You three be safe." Tsunade said.

Naruto and Sasuke stood in front of a large crowd, just outside the Konoha gates. Naruto carried the large sword that was once the weapon of Zabuza Momochi on his back. Jugo was with the two as they prepared to leave.

"Come on, you've got two of the greatest ninjas together." Naruto smiled, "Nothing can go wrong."

The crowd consisted of fellow shinobi who were wishing them good luck on their mission. This mission wasn't much of a big issue, it was more of a request by Naruto. Him and Sasuke were to bring the sword back to Zabuza's grave. Jugo was finally cured of his impules to kill, thanks to Tsunade. Now he was free to live life normally again.

"Remember to give your respects to him." Jiraiya said.

"And please give my respects to him and Haku." Kakashi said.

"I will." Naruto answered.

"We should hurry and get going." Sasuke said, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back home."

"You two play it safe." Kiba grinned.

The crowd then scattered, knowing that there was nothing else to say until they returned. Only Sakura and Hinata were left.

"Please be safe Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly.

"I promise." Naruto smiled. He hugged Hinata as he pressed his lips onto hers. When the kiss stopped, he backed away and saw that Hinata's eyes had tears in them, "Hey, don't cry. I'll be alright."

"I'm just going to miss you." Hinata said, wiping the tears off her eyes.

"I'll miss you too." Naruto said, "I love you."

"I love you too, Naruto-kun."

"Those two are just adorable aren't they?" Sakura asked.

"They sure are." Sasuke answered. "Naruto's got a great power. One that'll be remembered by people."

Sakura smiled, this was a rare occasion that Sasuke would actually say something nice about Naruto. "You know, Naruto became a jounin. That makes you the only member in our age group that's still a genin."

"WHAT?!" Sasuke suddenly realized that this was true. He defected Konoha while he was still a genin and remained as one for these long years.

"Calm down, you can still have your chance." Sakura smiled, "Just wait for the next Chunin Exams." She leaned forward to Sasuke and kissed him. "First, deal with this."

"Alright." Sasuke smirked, "I'll see you in a few days."

"Ok." Sakura smiled, "I love you, Sasuke."

"I know you do." Sasuke smiled.

A small vein popped in Sakura's head. All she wanted from him was to say 'I love you'. _We'll work on that someday._

Naruto walked up to the two. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's set off." Sasuke answered. The two walked off, leaving the leaving and on their way to The Land of Waves.

"Bye guys!" Sakura waved at the two as they slowly shrank away in the horizon.

"Bye Naruto-kun!" Hinata waved as well.

When the two figures disappeared in the distance, the two girls walked back into the village. Naruto, Sasuke, and Jugo made their way to the Wave country.

"So Jugo, what do you plan to do now?" Naruto asked, "Now that Baa-chan cured you, what's there for you?"

"I'm going to start a new life at the Wave country." Jugo answered, "Do something with myself that'll make me forget about my past."

"Sounds good to me." Sasuke said, "That place could sure use a nice guy like you."

* * *

Hinata and Sakura walked through the busy street of Konoha, making their way back home. But in this case, Hinata wasn't heading home, the direction she was walking was the opposite of where her home was.

"So, what are you doing now?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to be moving my things to Naruto's apartment." Hinata answered, "I'm hoping to get it all there before he comes back."

"Why don't I help?" Sakura asked, "We could get it done faster. And if there's still time, we can clean the place up again."

"Ok." Hinata nodded and smiled, "That would be great."

"And when we're done, we can clean up Sasuke's place." Sakura said, "That place has been filthy for decades."

The two walked off through the crowd of villagers. This wasn't like any normal day, changes have been made around this village, people have changed. This must be a sign of a new world, a world that will be determined by this new generation. New dangers may come, but they will always fight together, as one, and conquer all evil.

For they are; Shinobi of the Hidden Village.

* * *

**(Trumpet fanfare)**

**We are finished!!**

**I hope you enjoyed this. Like I said, I'm going to take a break to work on my other stories, but I'll have a little something for you to enjoy. I'll have a oneshot prepared that tells the story of Neji and Tenten before their engagement.**

**With Orochimaru gone for good, I'll now have Akatsuki be the main villian of the sequel.**

**Be prepared for some epic moments with the characters. You'll be surprised with what I have prepared.**

**Please review.**


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